The escalation of the trade war between Beijing and Washington has weighed on the main Gulf markets

(Reuters) – The Middle East's main stock markets plummeted on Tuesday, driven by falling financial stocks and losses in global markets caused by the US rating of China, handling the currency in a rapid escalation of the trade war between the two countries.

China's central bank said on Tuesday that Washington's decision to categorize Beijing as a currency manipulator would be "of great damage to the global financial system and cause chaos in the financial markets."

The Qatar index, which recorded its biggest drop in two years on Monday, plunged 4.2% and erased all of its gains since the start of the year, losing 1.5% to its sixth consecutive session, with 16 of the 20 values ​​down.

Shares of Mesaieed Petrochemicals fell by 5% and Barwa Real Estate by 4.4%, after both companies announced disappointing results in the first half.

The main index of Saudi Arabia closed down 0.8%, continuing a series of losses for the fifth consecutive session, most of the shares of the banks having fallen.

The National Commercial Bank (NCB.N: Quotation, Profile, Research) fell 3% and the British British Bank (BBS) lost 3.4% after posting a loss in the second quarter.

The Saudi Arabian bank recorded a net loss of 254 million riyals ($ 67.72 million) in the second quarter, compared to a profit of 833 million riyals the previous year.

Borouge Cooperative Insurance Co. lost 6% after dropping an 81% drop in net profit in the second quarter before Zakat, citing a drop in net subscriptions.

The Dubai index fell by 0.1%, Emirates NBD and 0.9% and Emaar Development by 3.1%, after the company announced a 24% drop in net profit in the first half.

Real estate prices in Dubai fell 1.9% in the first half of the year due to oversupply in the market, Reuters quoted Saviles Properties as saying.

In Abu Dhabi, the index stabilized as losses in the finance and telecommunication sectors increased on real estate values.

The commercial bank of Abu Dhabi lost 1.6%, while the Bank of Sharjah fell 9.9%, its biggest loss since the session of January 2009. The bank announced Sunday that it had recorded a fall 24% of its profit in the first half.

Aldar closed up 4.1% ahead of Wednesday's board meeting, which will discuss the company's financial performance in the second quarter. EFG-Hermes expects a 7% increase in profits.

The main index of Egypt rose by 0.4%, while the Egyptian-Kuwaiti portfolio gained 3.2%. The company has obtained regulatory approval to allocate land for agricultural projects to provide the raw material needed for its planned plant for compressed wood.

Ezz Steel rose 6.3% as a result of Monday's deal by a subsidiary to acquire Ezz for flat steels and Ezz Steel Mills.

Here are the closing levels of the Middle East stock indexes:

* Saudi Arabia: The index fell 0.8% to 8,394 points.

* Dubai: The index fell 0.1% to 2797 points.

Qatar: The index fell 1.5% to 9,977 points.

– Abu Dhabi .. The index is established at 5081 points.

* Egypt: The index rose 0.4% to 13,656 points.

Kuwait: The index fell 0.3% to 6,707 points.

* Oman: The index rose 0.4% to 3803 points.

– Bahrain .. The index has stabilized at 1545 points.