DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s stock market rebounded on Sunday, after a sharp decline in the previous session, while the Qatari index extended losses.
Most Gulf stock markets lost ground last week reflecting investors’ anxiety about fast-rising inflation that will drive a sharp rise in interest rates and put global economy growth at risk.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index gained 2.5%, with Al Rajhi Bank advancing 3.6%, while oil group Saudi Aramco finished 4.2% higher after reporting an almost 82% surge in first-quarter net profit.
Aramco, which is on a par with Apple Inc as the world’s most valuable company, reported net income of $39.5 billion for the quarter to March 31 from $21.7 billion a year earlier.
Oil prices, a key catalyst for the Gulf’s financial markets, rose about 4% on Friday as US gasoline prices jumped to a record high, China looked ready to ease pandemic restrictions and investors worried supplies will tighten if the European Union bans Russian oil.
In Qatar, the index dropped more than 2% as most of the stocks on the index were in negative territory, including Masraf Al Rayan.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index fell 1.4%, with Commercial International Bank losing 1.4%.
The Egyptian market remains exposed to the changing sentiment (in global financial markets) and could continue seeing a volatile performance, said Fadi Reyad, market analyst at CAPEX.com.
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