Most stock markets in the Gulf ended higher on Thursday, reversing early losses, as investors assess the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariff announcement.
Trump on Wednesday unveiled a 25% tariff on imported cars and light trucks starting next week, widening the ongoing trade war that’s been fuelling market volatility.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index gained 0.5%, with Saudi Arabian Mining Company rising 2.2% and Riyad Bank closing 1.4% higher.
Elsewhere, oil giant Saudi Aramco increased 0.4%.
Aramco is in talks to invest in two planned refineries in India as the world’s top oil exporter looks for a stable outlet for its crude in the world’s fastest-growing emerging market, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing several Indian sources with direct knowledge of the matter.
Dubai’s main share index nudged 0.1% higher, helped by a 4.1% jump in Parkin Company, which oversees public parking operations in the emirates.
In Abu Dhabi, the index added 0.2%.
Oil prices – a catalyst for the Gulf’s financial markets – were steady as markets assessed the new U.S. tariffs, while concerns about global supply kept prices near one-month highs.
The Qatari index concluded 0.5% higher, with the Gulf’s biggest lender Qatar National Bank gaining 0.9% and petrochemical maker Industries Qatar edging up 1.7%.
On the other hand, sharia-compliant lender Masraf Al Rayan slid 3.4%, as the bank traded ex-dividend.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index rose 0.9%, as most of its constituents were in positive territory including tobacco monopoly Eastern Company, which was up 2.2%.
Egypt’s cabinet approved a 4.6 trillion Egyptian pound ($91 billion) draft state budget for the financial year that will begin in July, a government statement said on Wednesday, as it continues to tighten its finances under an IMF programme.
