On Thursday, Middle Eastern stock markets experienced a decline amid growing uncertainties, especially following the United States’ decision to relocate American personnel from the region ahead of another round of nuclear discussions with Iran.
Despite this, the Dubai Financial Market and Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange maintained liquidity, reaching nearly 3 billion dirhams. The Abu Dhabi index fell by 1.13% to 9,693.79 points, while the Dubai index dropped by 2.29% to 5,467.10 points.
In Saudi Arabia, the main index decreased by 1.5%, while the Qatari index fell by 0.8% with most listed stocks dropping, including Industries Qatar, which fell by 1.4%. The Bahraini index saw a decline of 0.2% to 1,918 points, the Omani index dropped by 1.1% to 4,543 points, and the Kuwaiti index fell by 1.4% to 8,918 points.
Dubai Market
The Dubai Financial Market recorded total trades of 1.03 billion dirhams across approximately 20,800 transactions.
The stocks with the highest gains in Dubai included International Financial Advisors at 11.4%, Emirates NBD REIT at 4.9%, and National General Insurance at 2.7%. Other notable gainers were Dubai Commercial Bank, up by 1.5%, and Depa, which increased by 0.9%.
The market was affected by the performance of leading and active stocks recently. Emaar Properties closed down by 3.35% at 13 dirhams, while Shuaa Capital fell by 5%. Moreover, Deyaar Development dropped by 2.4% to 0.974 dirhams, and Drake & Scull saw a decline of 3.5%. Emirates NBD, Dubai Islamic Bank, Dewa, and Emaar Development also experienced losses of 1.37%, 1.28%, 2.50%, and 2.29%, respectively.
The largest decline was witnessed by Sukoon Takaful at 9.7%, followed by Gulf Navigation at 5.7%, and Emirates Reem Investments at 5.5%. Additionally, Dubai Financial Market’s stock fell by 5.3%, followed closely by GFH at 5.08%.
The most traded stock was Union Properties, which decreased by 2.4% to 0.678 dirhams with over 51 million shares exchanged.
Abu Dhabi Market
Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange recorded transactions worth 1.9 billion dirhams involving 34,500 trades. The top performing stocks included ESG with a gain of 12.7%, Abu Dhabi Shipbuilding rising by 3.72%, and I7 Authorization Group at 3.7%. Other gainers included Aldar Properties at 0.2% and ADNOC Gas at 0.30%.
The Abu Dhabi index experienced pressure from drops in Aldar Properties (2.26%), First Abu Dhabi Bank (2.33%), Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (0.90%), Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (3.75%), Multiplex (3.80%), and Fenix (1.7%).
On the other hand, Foodco saw the biggest decrease at 6.9%, followed by Arm at 5.6%, and Al Sayer Equipment at 5.3%, while Waha Capital also dropped by 5.06% and Ishraq fell by 5.05%.
Saudi Arabia
In Saudi Arabia, the main index declined by 1.5%, closing at 10,841 points, influenced by a 1.2% drop in Al Rajhi Bank and a 3.3% decrease in Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden). The Saudi market lost all its recent gains, bringing the index close to levels seen in early June.
Al Rajhi Bank and ACWA Power both fell by over 1%, closing at 92.60 and 251.80 riyals, respectively. Stocks such as Ma’aden, Al Habib, Bank Al Bilad, Jabal Omar, STC, Etihad Etisalat, and Alawwal Bank also closed down, with losses ranging from 1% to 4%. The largest drop in the market was for Al Umran stock, which fell by 9% to 26.30 riyals.
Egypt
Outside the Gulf region, the Egyptian leading stock index decreased by 1.3% to 32,512 points, pressured by selling from local investors, while transactions from Arab and foreign investors inclined towards buying. The market capitalization lost 36 billion Egyptian pounds, ending at 2.296 trillion pounds.
The EGX 30 index dropped by 1.29%, closing at 32,511 points, while the EGX 30 Capped index also fell by 1.29% to 40,563 points. Furthermore, the EGX 30 Total Return index declined by 1.28%, closing at 14,595 points.