DUBAI: Most Middle East markets dropped on Sunday amid thin trading volumes, mirroring a tumble in global stocks last week and weighed down by sliding oil prices.
Brent crude futures fell 58 cents on Friday, or 1%, to settle at $59.34 a barrel, while Wall Street stocks tumbled after President Donald Trump told U.S. companies to look at alternatives to China for manufacturing, following Chinese retaliatory tariffs on American goods.
The Saudi index was the worst performer, losing 2.4%, dragged down by banks and the petrochemical sector. The rest of the region was also in red territory, except the Egyptian and the Bahraini exchanges, which were little changed.
"We seem to be getting dragged down by international markets," said a Dubai-based trader. "It’s a quiet day, not the good kind." Islamic lender Alinma Bank was among the worst performers in Saudi Arabia, shedding 4%.
The bank earlier this month posted a 12% rise in second-quarter net profit.
In the petchem sector, Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co was heavily hit, losing 3.9%, while blue chip Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) lost 2.5%. Arqaam Capital said in a research note on Sunday it expected some weakness in the Saudi stock market this week as global index compiler MSCI completes the second phase of its upgrade of Saudi Arabia to emerging market status.
"We expect to see circa $6.8 billion of passive inflows into KSA (Saudi Arabia) as part of Phase 2 of EM inclusion, bringing KSA to its full weight," said the Dubai firm. "However, it appears that the KSA index trade is mostly over, as we have already recently seen significant selling pressure, and expect to see weakness into the trade this week."
In the UAE, large property developers were hurt. In Dubai, where the index lost 1.9%, Emaar Properties lost 3.9%, while in Abu Dhabi, where the index shed 1.4%, Aldar Properties tumbled 4.1%.
Outside of the Gulf, the Egyptian index edged up 0.1%, as a 1.4% drop by Orascom Investment Holding was partly offset by a 3.7% spike in Egyptian Resorts Co, which was the best performer on Sunday and among the stocks seeing the highest trading volume.
Saudi index drops amid global weakness, Aldar tumbles in Abu Dhabi
Saudi index drops amid global weakness, Aldar tumbles in Abu Dhabi
Closing Bell: Saudi stocks slip as Tadawul falls 1% amid broad market weakness
RIYADH: Saudi stocks fell sharply on Tuesday, with the Tadawul All Share Index closing down 108.14 points, or 1.03 percent, at 10,381.51.
The broader decline was reflected across major indices. The MSCI Tadawul 30 Index slipped 0.78 percent to 1,378.00, while Nomu, the parallel market index, fell 1 percent to 23,040.79.
Market breadth was strongly negative on the main board, with 237 stocks falling compared to just 24 gainers. Trading activity remained robust, with 164.7 million shares changing hands and a total traded value of SR3.19 billion ($850.6 million).
Among the gainers, SEDCO Capital REIT Fund led, rising 2.73 percent to SR6.77, followed by Chubb Arabia Cooperative Insurance Co., which gained 2.69 percent to SR20.20.
National Medical Care Co. added 1.72 percent to close at SR141.60, while Alyamamah Steel Industries Co. and Thimar Advertising, Public Relations and Marketing Co. advanced 1.57 percent and 1.13 percent, respectively.
Losses were led by Al Masar Al Shamil Education Co., which tumbled 8.36 percent to SR24.65. Raoom Trading Co.fell 6.75 percent to SR64.20, while Alkhaleej Training and Education Co. dropped 6.60 percent to SR18.12 and Naqi Water Co. declined 5.51 percent to SR54.00. Gulf General Cooperative Insurance Co. closed 5.44 percent lower at SR3.65.
On the announcement front, Chubb Arabia Cooperative Insurance Co. signed a multiyear insurance agreement with Saudi Electricity Co. to provide various coverages, expected to positively impact its financial results over the 2025–2026 period. The deal will run for three years and two months and is within the company’s normal course of business.
Meanwhile, Bupa Arabia for Cooperative Insurance Co. announced a one-year health insurance contract with Saudi National Bank, valued at SR330.2 million, covering the bank’s employees and their families from January 2026. Despite the sizable contract, Bupa Arabia shares fell 0.8 percent to close at SR137, weighed down by the broader market weakness.
In contrast, United Cooperative Assurance Co. revealed an extension of its engineering insurance agreement with Saudi Binladin Group for the Grand Mosque expansion in Makkah. The contract value exceeds 20 percent of the company’s gross written premiums based on its latest audited financials and is expected to support results through 2026. However, the stock came under selling pressure, ending the session down 4.51 percent at SR3.39.
