Mideast Stocks: Major Gulf markets track oil, Asian shares lower

Mideast Stocks: Major Gulf markets track oil, Asian shares lower

Major stock markets in the Gulf retreated in early trade on Wednesday, tracking Asian shares after a blast in Poland raised fears that the Russian-Ukraine conflict could spill over.

NATO member Poland said a Russian-made rocket killed two people in eastern Poland near Ukraine, and it summoned Russia's ambassador to Warsaw for an explanation after Moscow denied it was responsible.

Worries over a potential ratcheting up of geopolitical tensions spurred a drop of 1% in MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark stock index dropped 1%, dragged down by a 0.9% fall in Retal Urban Development Co and a 1.1% decline in oil giant Saudi Aramco .

The kingdom recorded an 85% year-on-year slump in second-quarter foreign direct investment (FDI) flows, an investment ministry report showed on Tuesday.

FDI inflows were at 7.9 billion riyals ($2.10 billion) in the second quarter, compared with about 51.9 billion riyals in the same period last year.

Meanwhile, Abdullah Al Othaim Markets Co surged 8% after the food retailer announced distribution of cash dividend of 7.5 riyals per share for the third quarter.

Dubai's main share index fell 1%, with blue-chip developer Emaar Properties down 1.1%.

In Abu Dhabi, the index lost 0.3%.

Crude prices - a key catalyst