Dubai’s index was the biggest casualty regionally, plunging 5.8 percent to 1,774 points, its biggest one-day decline for seven weeks, while Abu Dhabi, down 2.4 percent to 2,783 points, and Saudi Arabia, down 2.5 percent, suffered their largest losses since mid-June. The Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) closed at 5,711.49, down 143.76 points. In Saudi Arabia, losses were seen in all sectors ranging from -1.17 percent in the Transport sector to a loss of -4.16 percent in the Petrochemical Industries sector. Furthermore, market breadth was strongly negative, with 6 advancers and 125 decliners, giving an AD ratio of 0.05, the Jeddah-based Financial Transaction House (FTH) said in its daily market commentary on Monday. The decline was led by a strong loss in the Petrochemical sector, in which SABIC (Saudi Basic Industries Corp.) saw a drop of 6.16 percent. SABIC shares closed at SR68.50. “There is strong indication that Monday’s weakness is a direct effect of speculation about a decrease in oil demand and oil prices. In addition, Monday’s increased liquidity to SR5.2 billion is negative, and may indicate that the losing streak is not exhausted yet,” the FTH said. Dubai shares were hammered, with 21 of the 23 active stocks on the index dropping more than 4 percent. Union Properties plunged 9.6 percent, taking its losses to 18.3 percent since it reported a second-quarter loss on Thursday and other real estate stocks beat a similar retreat. The Qatari index dropped 2.2 percent to 6,857 points and Omani index fell 1.1 percent to 6,097 points. The Egypt index fell 3.5 percent to 6,289 points. Crude oil futures and global stock indexes fell sharply on Monday. Stock markets in Asia, Europe and the United States fell to lows last seen in July as equities tumbled 2.0 percent or more around the world and the CBOE Volatility Index, considered Wall Street’s fear gauge, jumped almost 13 percent. In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 158.48 points, or 1.70 percent, to 9,157.78. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped 21.71 points, or 2.16 percent, to 982.38. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 49.88 points, or 2.51 percent, to 1,935.64. In Europe, the heavyweight banking sector took the most points off the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top regional shares. The index fell 2 percent to 921.96 points, its lowest close since July 29. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares closed down 68.96 points, or 1.5 percent at 4,645.01 while Germany’s DAX fell 107.50 points, or 2 percent, to 5,201.61. The CAC-40 in France was 75.58 points, or 2.2 percent, lower at 3,419.69. Despite the growth, Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average dropped 328.72 points, or 3.1 percent, to 10,268.61 0. In China, Shanghai’s benchmark tumbled 5.8 percent to 2,870.63 amid more jitters about lofty stock prices and a possible tightening of bank lending policies. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dived 3.6 percent to 20,137.65. South Korea’s Kospi dropped 2.8 percent to 1,565.49, while markets in Taiwan, Australia and Singapore fell back over 1 percent. Indian shares dropped more than 4 percent Monday. The 30-share sensitive index Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange closed at 14,784, down 4.07 percent from its previous close, with Gold dropped below $ 936 an ounce as the US dollar rose against the euro. Commenting on Monday’s market turbulence, Brad Bourland, chief economist at the Riyadh-based Jadwa Investment, said this is a reaction to two things: Weak consumer sentiment in the US that raises concerns about the strength of a recovery; and the big sell off in China where the market was down 6 percent. He added that in China, the market has risen almost 100 percent this year fueled by strong bank lending and that a sell off was to be expected. Echoing Bourland’s remarks, John Sfakianakis, a Riyadh-based economist, said: “The fall in many markets is linked to latest consumer data from the US which showed that consumers are not yet ready to spend. “Japan’s export-driven industry relies heavily on US demand. It is clear that major economies such as US, Japan, Germany and France are coming out of a recession but there are no clear signs about the pace of the recovery. The recovery is based on government stimulation and is not yet private sector or consumer based which poses question about its sustainability.” He added, “Also we need not forget that stock markets have rallied over the past four weeks and profit-taking is also and expected factor.” The euro hit a two-week low against the dollar and neared a one-month trough against the yen, while US and European government debt prices rose on a flight-to-safety bid. The euro was down about 0.9 percent at $ 1.4077, just above a two-week low. It was down about 1.2 percent at 132.80 yen after hitting its lowest level since July 22. Against the yen, the dollar fell about 0.6 percent to 94.35 yen. US crude oil futures for September delivery fell $ 1.81 to $ 65.70 a barrel. Brent crude for October lost $ 1.36 to $ 70.08