Most Gulf markets fall as Chinese data disappoints

Most stock markets in the Gulf fell in early trading on Wednesday, tracking oil prices and Asian shares lower as more disappointing Chinese economic data and the absence of meaningful stimulus from Beijing continued to weigh on investor sentiment, reports Reuters.
China's July new home prices fell for the first time this year, official data showed on Wednesday, as piecemeal policy support failed to shore up the embattled property sector, mounting pressure on authorities to deliver aggressive stimulus.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index slipped 0.1 per cent, weighed by a 1.1 per cent drop in Dr Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical Services and a 0.6 per cent decline in oil giant Saudi Aramco.
Oil prices - a catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets - edged down, extending a 1 per cent drop in the previous session, as worries over China's struggling economy outweighed declining US stockpiles.
Dubai's main share index retreated 0.5 per cent, with toll operator Salik Company losing 0.9 per cent and sharia-compliant lender Dubai Islamic Bank falling 0.8 per cent.
In Abu Dhabi, the index eased 0.3 per cent.
Separately, in Abu Dhabi, new industrial licences granted in the year to June increased 16.6 per cent from a year ago, the government's media office said on Tuesday.
The Qatari index, however, bucked the trend to trade 0.1 per cent higher, helped by a 0.8 per cent increase in petrochemical maker Industries Qatar.