Most bourses in Gulf slide

JEDDAH — Most bourses in the Gulf edged lower on Tuesday after oil prices pulled back overnight, while Egypt's Palm Hills Development tumbled in response to a drop in its profits. Brent oil futures were trading at $44.11 a barrel, near two-week lows, while MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was near one-month lows. Tadawul All Share index fell 0.7 percent to 6,644 points. Petrochemical shares were the main drag on Saudi Arabia's stock index, with bellwether Saudi Basic Industries dropping 0.9 percent. The index fell 0.7 percent. Saudi Airlines Catering climbed 2.3 percent after saying it had renewed a contract with Oman Air. The three-year contract has a total value of 35 million riyals ($9.33 million) and will be reflected in third-quarter results, the firm said. First-quarter 2016 revenue was 559.2 million riyals. Elsewhere, Dubai index lost 0.1 percent to 3,312 points. Abu Dhabi index dropped 1.1 percent to 4,427 points. Kuwait index edged down 0.2 percent to 5,352 points. Oman index fell 0.7 percent to 5,979 points. However, Qatar index rose 0.3 percent to 9,884 points. Bahrain index was flat at 1,106 points. Egypt index slid 0.3 percent to 7,622 points. Earnings at real estate firms have been mixed in the United Arab Emirates but the latest to report, Abu Dhabi's Aldar Properties, posted results above analysts' expectations.— SG/Reuters