Egypt unrest rocks Gulf stocks

Egypt’s Bourse may have been closed for the Islamic New Year on Sunday, but the country’s unrest had a knock-on effect on other Middle East markets, with Gulf indexes falling to recent lows.

Abu Dhabi's bourse dipped for a 10th consecutive session on Sunday, with Gulf markets extending declines as concerns over the euro zone crisis and mass protests in Egypt and Syria weighed on investor sentiment.

Fears of Europe's debt crisis dragging on without a credible solution saw U.S. stocks fall for a seventh straight session on Friday, leading global equity markets to their worst week in two months.

"Global concerns are coming down on retail investors ... no one wants to take extra risks at this time," said Marwan Shurrab, vice president and chief trader at Gulfmena Alternative Investments.

The Abu Dhabi index eased 0.09 per cent to its lowest close since March 2009.

Banks led the decline with Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank dropping 0.7 percent, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank losing 1.6 percent and National Bank of Abu Dhabi shedding 1 percent.

In Saudi Arabia, petrochemical stocks dragged the index to a seven-week low, as slumping crude prices weighed on sentiment in the world's top oil exporter.

Brent crude also fell on Friday on concerns that demand for oil will be hurt by Europe's spreading debt crisis that also weakened the euro against the dollar.

Heavyweight Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) lost 0.6 per cent and Sahara Petrochemical dropped 3.1 per cent.

Petrochemical product prices are closely tied to oil.

The kingdom's index lost 0.2 per cent to end at lowest close since 5 October.

In Dubai, the bourse dropped 0.4 per cent to a new seven-year low. Bluechip firms weighed on the emirate's index, with Emaar Properties slipping 0.4 per cent and telecom operator du losing 1.7 per cent.