In Saudi Arabia, the benchmark index slipped 0.4%. Riyad Bank lost 2.7% and Jabal Omar development dropped 1.2%. Amongst other stocks, National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri) was down 3% as it traded ex-dividend. With Monday's fall, the Saudi bourse's main index has fallen in nine of ten sessions this month, leaving it at 3.1% down so far this year. It had gained more than 20% in the first four months of 2019 in the run up to joining the MSCI and FTSE emerging-market indexes, which helped attract billions of dollars from passive funds.
However, the trade dispute between the United States and China, growing geopolitical risks in the region and volatile oil prices have hit the market since then and kept active emerging market funds from investing in the kingdom. Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index slipped 0.3% led by a 2.5% fall in real estate developer Talaat Mostafa and a 5.1% plunge in Juhayna Food. In Abu Dhabi, the index traded flat with market heavyweight First Abu Dhabi Bank adding 0.4% while Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank was down 1.8%.