In recent times, the Gulf Cooperation Council countries have seen a decline in their stock markets, mainly due to the drop in oil prices and investors’ anticipation of the Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates. Among these countries, the UAE experienced a significant drop in its stock market indices. The Abu Dhabi market index fell by 0.39% to 9032.06 points, while the Dubai market index dropped by 0.54% to 4133.31 points. Similarly, Saudi Arabia’s TASI index declined by 0.4%, with most sectors experiencing losses.
Several sectors suffered losses in Saudi Arabia, including pharmaceutical and banking industries. The Middle East Pharmaceutical Industries Company saw a decline of 2%, while shares of Saudi National Bank fell by 0.9%. Meanwhile, preliminary estimates revealed that Saudi Arabia’s real GDP decreased by 1.8% annually in the first quarter, with oil activities continuing to impact overall growth.
In Kuwait, the general index of the Kuwait Stock Exchange fell by 0.36% to 7,025.42 points, with a trading volume of 198.7 million shares through 12,139 cash transactions worth 37.9 million dinars on Labor Day when Bahrain’s stock exchange and Bahrain Clear were closed for trading operations set to resume on Thursday
Qatar experienced a slight decline in its stock market index due to decreases in Qatar Islamic Bank shares and Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding shares by respectively 1.1% and 3
