Most stock markets in the Gulf ended lower on Thursday amid U.S. tariff uncertainties, although First Abu Dhabi Bank drove the Abu Dhabi index higher.
Market anxiety persisted with escalating trade tensions spark fears of slowing economic growth, following U.S. imposition of 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, along with additional duties on Chinese goods.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index dropped 0.7%, weighed down by a 2.3% fall in Saudi Telecom Company, while oil giant Saudi Aramco retreated 1.1% advancing 4.2%.
Egypt’s inflation rate is forecast to have tumbled to 14.5% in February, as the exceptionally high price increases of the last two years are no longer reflected in the statistics, according to a poll released on Wednesday.
