Most stock markets in the Gulf ended lower on Monday as U.S. import tariffs sparked concerns over global economic growth, dampening the investor appetite for risky assets.
U.S. President Donald Trump, in a Fox News interview on Sunday, declined to predict whether his tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico would result in a U.S. recession.
Tariffs have been a key concern for investors, with many believing that they can hurt economic growth and be inflationary.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index dropped 0.8%, with Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) retreating 5.5%, following three sessions of gains.
Last week, Ma’aden reported 2024 net profit up 82% year on year at 2.87 billion riyals ($765 million).
Among other fallers, oil giant Saudi Aramco closed 1.3% lower.
However, Derayah Financial soared 30% in debut trade - the maximum daily limit allowed for newly listed stocks during their first three days of trading.
Dubai’s main share index declined 1.7%, weighed down by a 4% slide in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties and a 4.4% decrease in toll operator Salik Co.
In Abu Dhabi, the index lost 0.6%.
Major Gulf markets ease on global trade war concerns
A run of soft U.S. economic data continued on Friday after monthly figures showed the labour market created fewer jobs than expected in February, in the first payrolls report covering Trump’s early days in office.
Investors now await the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) data due on Wednesday and Producer Price Index (PPI) data expected on Thursday, to gauge the outlook for the Federal Reserve’s interest rate stance.
Monetary policy in the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is usually guided by the Fed’s decisions, as most regional currencies are pegged to the dollar.
The Qatari index, however, nudged 0.1% higher, helped by a 1.5% rise in Qatar Gas Transport Nakilat.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index finished flat.
Egypt’s annual urban consumer price inflation decreased to 12.8 pct in February from 24.0 pct in January, data from statistics agency CAPMAS showed on Monday.
--------------------------------------- SAUDI ARABIA fell 0.8% to 11,746 Abu Dhabi lost 0.6% to 9,393 Dubai down 1.7% to 5,136 QATAR added 0.1% to 10,532 EGYPT was flat at 31,137 BAHRAIN was flat at 1,972 OMAN down 0.3% to 4,406 KUWAIT added 0.4% to 8,605 ---------------------------------------
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