Gulf stock exchanges ended most of the trading in decline, as the central banks’ approach to sharply raising interest rates to curb inflation fueled fears of slowing economic growth.
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The Saudi index lost nearly 12% this quarter, in the worst performance since the Corona pandemic
Most of the Gulf stock exchanges ended trading today, Thursday, with a decline, as the central banks’ approach to sharply raising interest rates to curb inflation fueled fears of slowing economic growth.
The Saudi index gave up early gains to close with a decline of 1.7%, with Al-Rajhi Bank falling 2.6%, and the National Bank of Saudi Arabia falling 3.5%.
The Saudi index lost nearly 12%, in the current quarter, in the worst performance since the pandemic. The Dubai index also fell 0.7%, recording a quarterly loss of more than 80%, with the Emirates NBD Bank share falling 1.5%.
“The Dubai market witnessed volatility and remained under pressure after a limited recovery,” said Farah Murad, a financial analyst at “XTP” (a global company for trading currencies, gold, oil and stocks).
And she continued, “The market may return to a new price correction, with concerns related to global economic conditions continuing to affect investor sentiment.”
In Abu Dhabi, the index fell 0.4%, under pressure from a 0.7% drop in the shares of the International Holding Company, a day after the group touched, for a short period, a record valuation that exceeded 150 billion dollars.
And what limited the losses, the stock of First Abu Dhabi Bank increased by 1%, after HSBC (a British multinational investment bank and financial services holding company) increased its valuation of the bank.
The Abu Dhabi index recorded a quarterly loss of 5.8%, the first quarterly decline, since March of last year. The Qatari index fell 0.4%, with Qatar National Bank declining 0.7%, and the index recorded quarterly losses of nearly 10%.