The Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange led most of the Gulf stock markets to rise today, Tuesday, in line with the trend of global stocks, but Saudi Index It extended its losses from the last session.
European shares rose, tracking the positive trend in Asia, and the Stoxx 600 index of shares of the largest companies in Europe rose 1.7%, amid optimism about easing “Covid-19” restrictions in China, according to Archyde.com.
The Saudi index continued its losses, closing down 1.77%, with Al-Rajhi Bank’s share falling by 4%, while Aramco’s share fell 3.1%.
The Saudi market index decreased by 228.12 points, to reach 12686 points.
For his part, Director of Zad Consulting Center Hussein Al-Raqib said that the Saudi market is going through a period of high evaluation, so it tended to correct with the start of the wave of raising interest rates and the decline of global markets.
In an interview with Al-Arabiya, the censor added that the consecutive rise in interest rates during the coming months does not stimulate the financial markets to enter an upward wave, and therefore this decline is justified.
The censor pointed out that the rise in interest rates affects the profitability of companies, especially those that have high indebtedness.
Abu Dhabi market
The main index of the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange jumped about 3%, supported by the rise in the share of First Abu Dhabi Bank, the largest bank in the country, by 3.9%, and the rise in the share of Etisalat 1.6%, according to Archyde.com.
Etisalat Group said last week it had bought a 9.8% stake in Vodafone for $4.4 billion, days after it said it was looking to expand into new markets and other areas such as financial technology.
The main index in the Dubai Stock Exchange closed at a 1.5% increase, supported by the rise of Emaar shares 6.9%.
On Friday, Emaar announced a record profit in the first quarter of 2.24 billion dirhams (610 million dollars), with real estate sales up 17%.
The Qatar Stock Exchange index rose 1.4%, ending a three-session falling wave, and was supported by a 5.4% rise in the Commercial Bank of Qatar’s share.
Outside the Gulf region, the leading shares index in the Egyptian Stock Exchange fell 0.2%, affected by the decline in the share of Commercial International Bank 1.5%.