DUBAI: Most stock markets in the Gulf closed lower on Sunday, in response to Friday’s fall in oil prices as investors weighed oversupply concerns against geopolitical risks.
The Brent benchmark lost nearly 20 percent in 2025, the steepest fall since 2020. It was the third straight year of losses for Brent, the longest streak on record.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index fell 1.8 percent, with Al Rajhi Bank losing 1.7 percent and Saudi National Bank - the country’s biggest lender by assets - dropping 2.3 percent.
Elsewhere, oil behemoth Saudi Aramco was down 1.6 percent.
OPEC+ kept oil output unchanged on Sunday after avoiding discussions of the multiple political crises affecting the producer group’s members, from the Middle East as well as Russia, Iran and Venezuela.
Saudi Arabia’s finance minister has approved the kingdom’s 2026 borrowing plan, with financing needs of about 217 billion riyals (USD57.86 billion), the finance ministry said on Saturday, as the Gulf country pushes ahead with its economic diversification plans.
The world’s top oil exporter is more than halfway through its Vision 2030 plan that calls for hundreds of billions of dollars in government investment to cut its economic dependence on hydrocarbon revenue.
In Qatar, the index added 0.2 percent, with the Gulf’s biggest lender Qatar National Bank gaining 0.7 percent.
The Qatari market has shown resilience, bolstered by an economy less reliant on oil and heavily anchored in liquefied natural gas (LNG). This diversification acts as a built-in buffer against short-term oil price swings, said Rania Gule, senior market analyst at XS.com – MENA.
“Accordingly, I expect the Qatari market to maintain relatively stable performance, with gradual upside potential should global energy prices improve, without being exposed to sharp or sudden fluctuations.”
Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index declined 2.2 percent, with Commercial International Bank retreating 2.4 percent.
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