Sharp declines in Arab stock exchanges and limited gains in Qatar and Kuwait

In Egypt, the stock exchange ended Sunday's trading, the first session of the week, with a sharp collective decline in its indices, amid selling pressure, coinciding with the dollar exchange rate approaching 56 pounds, compared to about 50 pounds two weeks ago.

According to the state-owned "Al-Ahram" newspaper, the main index "EGX 30" fell by 3.56 percent, affected by the decline in blue-chip stocks and various market sectors.

The small and mid-cap index "EGX 70" recorded a decline of 11.07 percent, while the broader "EGX 100" index fell by 8.88 percent.

During the session, the stock exchange administration decided to temporarily halt trading for half an hour after the decline of the "EGX 100 equal-weighted" index exceeded the 10 percent threshold, activating the suspension mechanisms established to counter sharp declines.

The decision came in light of selling pressure dominating the transactions, according to the newspaper.

According to the state-owned "Akhbar Al-Youm" newspaper, the value of trades reached about 7.2 billion pounds (130.2 million dollars), amid sales by foreign investors.

The market capitalization of listed stocks lost about 171 billion pounds (3.09 billion dollars), closing at the level of 3.778 trillion pounds (68.32 billion dollars).

This is the first time the Egyptian Stock Exchange has halted trading for half an hour in 5 years, after 2021 saw a similar measure twice, on March 23 and October 19.

In Saudi Arabia, the stock market continued its decline, as the main index "TASI" closed down by 2.7 percent, losing 257.36 points, to settle at the level of 9438.50 points, compared to about 9696 points at the end of Thursday's trading.

According to local media, including the "Sabq" newspaper and "Al Arabiya" channel, this level represents the lowest closing for the index since 2021.

The value of trades fell to about 4.3 billion riyals (1.15 billion dollars), compared to 4.9 billion riyals (1.31 billion dollars) in the previous session, a decrease of 600 million riyals (160 million dollars), equivalent to about 12.2 percent.

Commenting on the market performance, the director of the "Zad" Consulting Center, Hussein Al-Raqib, stated in remarks to "Al Arabiya" channel that the decline in the Saudi stock index is "unjustified."

Al-Raqib expected the market to recover within a short period, considering that the current declines represent an opportunity for medium and long-term investors to acquire shares of operational companies.

In the Sultanate of Oman, the Muscat Stock Exchange "30" index closed at the level of 7278.18 points, down 101.2 points, or 1.37 percent, compared to the level of 7379.41 points in the previous session.

The Oman News Agency, citing a report by the Muscat Stock Exchange, stated that the market value declined by 0.699 percent, reaching about 38.67 billion Omani riyals (100.57 billion dollars).

Contrary to the downward trend in a number of regional markets, the Qatar Stock Exchange recorded a slight rise, as its general index rose by 4.38 points, or 0.05 percent, to close at the level of 8615.48 points.

According to the Qatar News Agency, the session witnessed the trading of about 137.2 million shares, with a value exceeding 312.2 million riyals (85.8 million dollars), through 27,013 transactions covering various sectors.

In contrast, the market value of listed stocks declined to about 526.08 billion riyals (144.53 billion dollars), compared to about 526.39 billion riyals (144.61 billion dollars) in the previous session, despite the limited rise of the general index.

In Kuwait, the stock exchange regained some of its gains after a series of losses that lasted for 7 consecutive sessions, as its main indices recorded collective rises at the beginning of the week's trading.

The Kuwaiti "Al-Jarida" newspaper reported that the general index rose by 38.61 points, or 0.47 percent, to close at the level of 8329.42 points.

Trades reached about 205.8 million shares, through 15,360 cash transactions, with a value of 57.4 million dinars (184.9 million dollars).

The main market index also rose by 23 points, or 0.28 percent, to reach 8301.92 points, amid trades worth 16.2 million dinars (52.2 million dollars).

The premier market index rose by 43.94 points, or 0.50 percent, to close at the level of 8767.54 points, with trades amounting to 41.1 million dinars (132.4 million dollars).

This limited recovery came after a wave of selling pressure that dominated the Kuwaiti market during the previous seven sessions.

As for the UAE markets, they did not witness trading on Sunday, due to the difference in trading days from the rest of the regional markets.

The last trading session, Friday, ended with a decline in the indices of the two main markets, as the Dubai Financial Market fell by 1.44 percent, while the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange index fell by 1.17 percent.

These divergent movements come in light of security tensions witnessed in the region, amid investors' anticipation of regional developments and their economic repercussions.