Saudi Arabia’s stock market gave up early gains to end lower on Monday, as investor sentiment struggled to recover from last week’s selloff amid fears of a slowdown in economic growth.

Gulf stock markets lost ground last week, reflecting investors’ anxiety about fast-rising inflation that will drive a sharp rise in interest rates and put global economy growth at risk.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index dropped 1.8%, dragged down by a 3.7% slide in Al Rajhi Bank and a 4.5% decline in the country’s largest lender Saudi National Bank.

However, oil giant Saudi Aramco added 0.4% after it reported an almost 82% rise in first-quarter net profit, broadly in line with analyst forecasts.

Aramco, which is at par with Apple Inc as the world’s most valuable company, reported a net income of $39.5 billion for the quarter to March 31, from $21.7 billion a year earlier.

Brent crude prices ended the first quarter up almost 70% at $107.91 a barrel from end of March 2021, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine exacerbated concerns over petroleum supplies.

Abu Dhabi leads Gulf bourses lower; Aramco surpasses Apple

The Qatari index dropped 1.6%, with Commercial Bank declining 6.2% and Masraf Al Rayan down 4.4%.

Oil prices, a key catalyst for the Gulf’s financial market, fell as widespread lockdowns in China and the country’s weak economic data fuelled fears of a global recession, though the market found some support as the European Union stepped closer to an import ban on Russian crude.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index retreated 0.7%.

Dubai and Abu Dhabi bourse were closed for a public holiday.

SAUDI ARABIA fell 1.8% to 12,915

QATAR dropped 1.6% to 12,676

EGYPT lost 0.7% to 10,462

BAHRAIN eased 0.5% to 1,961

OMAN rose 0.3% to 4,154

KUWAIT 2.4% to 8,525