Gulf markets drop as political uncertainty rises

Most stock markets in the Gulf slipped on Monday amid political uncertainty in the region after Iran’s president died in a helicopter crash and Saudi Arabia’s crown prince postponed a trip to Japan, citing issues with the king’s health.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark stock index dropped 0.6% with most of its constituents posting losses, led by IT, real estate and finance stocks.

Saudi National Bank, the kingdom’s largest lender, slipped 2% and Saudi Basic Industries, one of the world’s biggest petrochemical companies, declined 2.3%.

The Qatari benchmark index eased 0.3%, pressured by a 1.2% drop in Qatar National Bank, the region’s largest lender and a 0.5% loss in Industries Qatar.

Meanwhile, Qatar recorded a budget surplus of 2 billion riyals ($548.9 million) in the first quarter of 2024, down from 19.7 billion riyals a year earlier, the finance ministry said on Sunday.

Most Gulf markets rise while Saudi bourse holds steady

In Abu Dhabi, the benchmark index fell marginally with conglomerate International Holding Company shedding 0.4%, while emirate’s largest developer, Aldar Properties climbed 3.5%.

Among other gainers, ADNOC Distribution and ADNOC Logistics rose 1.7% and 3.8%, respectively, after their parent company, oil major Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) said it had acquired an 11.7% stake in NextDecade’s Rio Grande liquefied natural gas export facility in Texas and entered a supply agreement.

Dubai’s benchmark index was little changed as gains in real estate, communications and industry offset losses in utilities, consumer discretionary and finance stocks.

The blue-chip developer Emaar Properties advanced 2.3%, while National Central Cooling and Emirates NBD, the emirate’s largest lender, dropped 5.4% and 0.9%, respectively.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index was down 0.3% after two straight sessions of gains with Eastern Company dropping 4.8% and El Sewedy Electric falling 2.9%.

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 SAUDI ARABIA     fell 0.6% to 12,125
 KUWAIT           lost 0.4% to 7,811
 QATAR            was down 0.3% to 9,677
 EGYPT            lost 0.3% to 27,229
 BAHRAIN          added 0.1% to 2,018
 OMAN             Closed
 ABU DHABI        lost 0.04% to 9,038
 DUBAI            ended flat at 4,067
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