The performance of the Gulf stock exchanges varied this week, affected by several factors and events, most notably the tension that increased between the United States and China following the visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan.
At the same time, the general index of the Saudi market TASI recorded gains for the third week in a row, by 1 percent, supported by the announcement of the banking and communications sectors for positive financial results by the end of the second quarter of this year.
Stocks in the United Arab Emirates rose this week, with the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange increasing by 2.9 percent and the Dubai Financial Market’s general index increasing by 0.5 percent.
Variation and weekly gains
Saudi stocks rose on Sunday (July 31, 2022) in the first session of the week, supported mainly by the primary materials sector’s rise. Hence, the general index rose by 0.4 percent and gained 44 points in trading the financial market. Shares of 173 companies increased in value, led by Real Estate and Refineries.
On Monday (August 1, 2022), the benchmark index for the Saudi stock market, known as TASI, increased by 1.1 percent, or 139.87 points. And 20 sectors in the Saudi stock market rose, led by long-term commodities, by 2.5 percent.
On Tuesday (August 2, 2022), the Saudi market index fell 0.2 percent to 12,311 points, affected by a 0.9 percent drop in Banque Saudi Fransi and a 1.3 percent decline in Yamama Cement Company, amid concerns of investors in the Gulf over the tension between the United States and China over Taiwan.
On Wednesday (August 3, 2022), a drop of 2.5 percent in Bupa Arabia for Medical Insurance and 1.3 percent in Saudi Cement share contributed to a 0.2 percent drop in the Saudi index.
Thursday (August 4, 2022) saw a further 0.1 percent drop in the index as Banque Saudi Fransi fell 1.5 percent and Bupa Arabia’s share dropped over 1 percent following the disclosure of losing quarterly profits.
Gains of 1 percent were seen in the Saudi General Index over the past week.
Abu Dhabi index increases its weekly gains
A 1.2 percent increase was seen in the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange index Monday (August 1, 2022). In addition, five sectors rose, led by basic materials.
The index also rose on Tuesday (August 2, 2022) by 1.2 percent, close to its highest level in a month, supported by a 1.3 percent increase in the shares of First Abu Dhabi Bank.
After three consecutive gains, the main index in Abu Dhabi ended Wednesday (August 3, 2022), down 0.5 percent, due primarily to a 1.9 percent decline in International Holding Company’s share price.
The stock of First Abu Dhabi Bank dropped by 1.4 percent on Thursday (August 4, 2022) as the Abu Dhabi market index fell by 0.1 percent.
While on Friday (August 5, 2022), the market index closed up 1.1 percent. At the same time, the index gained 2.9 percent on a weekly basis.
Dubai index ends its week down
At the close of trading on Monday (August 1, 2022), the general index of the Dubai Financial Market increased by 1.1 percent, gaining 39.16 points.
Additionally, six sectors increased, with the transportation sector leading the way with a gain of 2.6percent, followed by the banking sector with a growth of 1.4 percent.
On Tuesday (August 2, 2022), however, the index dropped 0.9 percent, to 3,348 points, as shares of Emirates NBD Bank fell 1.1 percent and shares of Dubai Islamic Bank dropped 0.8 percent.
On Wednesday (August 3, 2022), the Dubai market index dropped by 0.3 percent, with shares of Emaar Properties falling 1.1 percent and shares of Dubai Islamic Bank falling 0.5 percent.
The Emirates NBD share fell 1.4 percent, and the Emaar real estate share fell 1.1 percent on Thursday (August 4, 2022). These two individual stock market declines contributed to a 0.4 percent decline in the main Dubai stock index.
At the end of trading for this week, the general index of the Dubai Financial Market ended Friday’s trading session (August 5, 2022) down by 0.1 percent. At the same time, the index achieved a weekly gain of 0.5 percent.