In a week truncated by the Eid holidays across the Middle East, stocks on the UAE exchanges shed gains, while there was no trading in Saudi Arabia because of Eid al-Fitr.
UAE’s exchange closes descending
The Dubai stock market index gained when trading resumed after Eid, but the Abu Dhabi index remained constant.
Dubai index rose 0.4 percent to 3,734 points, while the Abu Dhabi index was steady at 10,079 points.
A day after the long Eid al-Fitr vacation, the UAE stock exchanges plummeted as the Dubai index lost more than 1 percent on Friday (May 6, 2022).
There was a 0.1 percent drop in the Abu Dhabi index to 10,073 points, while the Dubai index slipped to 3,695.
Saudi Arabia’s market is still closed
Saudi Arabia’s financial markets closed on Sunday, May 1, 2022, because of Eid Al-Fitr, an official holiday. It will re-open on Sunday.
Before the Eid Al-Fitr holiday, the Saudi market index closed at 13734 points, with gains of 4.9 percent throughout Ramadan around 644.
Other GCC markets
Thursday (May 5, 2022) saw a 0.1 percent drop in the Bahrain index when it re-opened trading. Conversely, a 1.2 percent increase in the Kuwaiti stock market index closed at 9423.
On the other hand, the Qatar and Oman Stock Exchanges will resume trading on Sunday.
Last Week Performance
With oil prices down and banks struggling, Saudi Arabia’s primary stock market index “TASI” concluded trading on a mixed note on Thursday (April 28, 2022).
While this was happening, the banking and telecommunications sectors of the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange saw a modest dip. However, banks and real estate helped keep Dubai’s main index stable at the end of last Friday (April 30, 2022).