Gulf equities ended mixed on Tuesday, with investors exercising caution over U.S. trade policies after President Donald Trump announced steep import levies on several trading partners and pushed the tariff deadline to August 1.
While Gulf economies were spared from immediate measures, Trump had earlier announced plans to impose an additional 10% tariff on countries aligning with the “anti-American policies” of the BRICS bloc, which includes the UAE. Saudi Arabia, while not a BRICS member, attended a BRICS meeting in April.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index dropped 0.5%, ending a four-day winning streak as most sectors closed in red. ACWA Power Company slid 3.4%, while Al Rajhi Bank fell 0.2%.
Oil prices – a catalyst for the Gulf’s financial markets -retreated after gaining nearly 2% in the previous session on tariff concerns and a higher-than-expected increase in OPEC+ output planned for August.
Dubai’s main share index lost 0.1%, after reaching a 17-year peak the previous day, with blue-chip developer Emaar Properties dropping 0.7%.
Most Gulf markets gain on US trade progress
In Abu Dhabi, the index was marginally up.
Qatar’s benchmark index added 0.3%, supported by a 1.1% rise in the Qatar Islamic Bank.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s stock exchange said it had suspended trading on Tuesday, citing ongoing disruptions affecting brokerage firms’ ability to communicate efficiently across the trading system, a day after a fire broke out in a telecoms data centre in Cairo.
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SAUDI ARABIA dropped 0.5% to 11,294
ABU DHABI added 0.1% to 10,012
DUBAI eased 0.1% to 5,794
QATAR firmed 0.3% to 10,834
BAHRAIN was up 0.7% to 1,961
OMAN slipped 0.5% to 4,554
KUWAIT increased 0.2% to 9,213
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