Saudi Arabian stocks were poised to close in a bear market after declining eight straight days as the price of oil slumped, hitting the country’s main source of economic growth. The Tadawul All Share Index sank 2.8 percent to 7,768.88 at 11:11 a.m. local time, a more than 20 percent drop from the most recent peak in April. Brent crude, a benchmark for more than half the world’s oil, slid 0.5 percent to $46.95 a barrel after falling to the lowest since January in earlier trading on Thursday. An unexpected increase in U.S. crude stockpiles and record oil production from Saudi Arabia in June has deepened concern that growing oversupply will continue to impact oil prices as nations tussle over market share. Governments in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, home to about 30 percent of the world’s proven oil reserves, rely on income from crude to fund spending. Most […]