Gulf stock markets may remain range-bound and trendless on Wednesday as oil prices, to which investors turn for cues in the absence of corporate news, are volatile and global equities are mixed.

Brent oil had dropped over 3 per cent on Tuesday to a one-month low of $63.95 per barrel on a US dollar rally and concerns about a building glut, which Goldman Sachs said would lead to a return to 2015 lows. But it has risen 1.0 per cent in Asian trade on Wednesday after strong Japanese economic growth surprised markets.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan has slipped 0.2 per cent after a mixed performance by indexes in the United States.

In the Gulf, Dubai’s stock index, which last closed at 4,127 points, is approaching major technical resistance in the area between its 200-day average of 4,204 points and its April peak of 4,253 points.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark has remained nearly flat for two sessions and weak oil may put more pressure on petrochemical stocks.

Brokerage Renaissance Capital on Wednesday downgraded the kingdom’s biggest listed company, Saudi Basic Industries, to “sell’’ from “hold’’ with a target price of 88.00 riyals. The stock last closed at 107.03 riyals.

In Egypt, the rally driven by the delay of capital gains tax appears to have run out of steam, and investors may focus on first-quarter results released this month that had been largely ignored in broad market moves.

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