Saudi, Gulf markets open lower amid global rout

The biggest US stock sell-off since February seems to have spread to the Arabian Gulf. Following the stock market sell-off in Asia and Europe after Wall Street’s plunge on Wednesday, markets in the Gulf are trading in the red on Thursday.   

Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) opened lower with the broad index down 2.79 percent, at 10:10 AM Riyadh time.

UAE’s Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange was down 1.31 percent amid thin trading, while the neighboring Dubai Financial Market (DFM) was 1.28 percent down, at 11AM (Dubai time).

Muscat Securities Market’s benchmark MSM 30 Index saw a milder dip, sliding 0.07 percent, as did Bahrain's index, which edged 0.08 percent lower.

On Wednesday, the S&P500 index dipped the most since February as technology shares tumbled on fears of slowing demand.