DUBAI: Most stock markets in the Gulf ended lower on Sunday as US President Donald Trump’s comments accusing China of breaking a bilateral trade deal added to uncertainty over tariffs.
Trump has also announced plans to double worldwide steel and aluminium tariffs to 50%. Later said he would speak to his Chinese counterpart to “hopefully” work out differences.
A federal appeals court last week temporarily reinstated the most sweeping of Trump’s tariffs, a day after a US trade court ruled that Trump had exceeded his authority in imposing the duties and ordered an immediate block on them.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index dropped 1.5%, weighed down by a 2.2% slide in Al Rajhi Bank and a 0.9% decrease in Saudi National Bank.
Elsewhere, oil company Saudi Aramco eased 0.7%.
Aramco has published a new prospectus for its issuance programme of Islamic bonds or sukuk, signalling the state oil group may soon tap the debt markets again after it raised $5 billion from a three-part bond sale this week.
In Qatar, the index gained 0.4%, ending a five-session losing streak, helped by a 1.1% rise in the Gulf’s biggest lender Qatar National Bank.
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