Mideast Stocks: Abu Dhabi leads major Gulf bourses lower on recession fears

Mideast Stocks: Abu Dhabi leads major Gulf bourses lower on recession fears

Major Gulf bourses tumbled in early trade on Thursday, as data showed U.S. inflation persistently hot, deepening investor worries about the economic toll of aggressive interest rate hikes.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 2.3% to a 22-month low. Japan's Nikkei fell 1.8%.

In Abu Dhabi, the index slid 4.9%, its biggest intraday fall since March 2020, dragged down by a near 8% fall in the United Arab Emirates' largest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank .

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index declined 2%, with Al Rajhi Bank bank losing 2.4% and oil giant Saudi Aramco retreated 3.1% to 44.1 riyals, pulling back from the top spot as the world's most valued company.

On Wednesday, Aramco dethroned Apple Inc as the biggest company by market capitalization after the latter fell more than 5%.

Aramco is now worth about $2.35 trillion easing from $2.43 trillion, compared to $2.37 trillion valuation of Apple, Refinitiv data shows.

Dubai's main share index tumbled 4.6%, as shares fell across the board, including sharia-compliant lender Dubai Islamic Bank, which plunged 7.5%.

Oil prices dropped more than 1% in a volatile week as economic concerns and recession fears dogged global financial markets, outweighing supply concerns and geopolitical tensions in Europe.

Oil prices are under