The financial markets in the Gulf region recorded sharp declines with the opening of the week’s sessions today, amid the escalation of fears of the outbreak of a comprehensive trade war and the sliding of the global economy towards the recession, after US President Donald Trump imposed high customs duties on imports, followed by counter -procedures from China.
On Friday, April 4, the Chinese Finance Ministry said it intends to impose additional customs duties on all American goods as of April 10, in response to what it described as the “comprehensive” fees imposed by the United States without prior consultation.
The Saudi market leads losses
According to Reuters, the General Index of the Saudi Financial Market (Tadawul) was 6.8%, in the largest daily decline since May 2020, affected by a sharp decline in the shares of major banks.
Al-Rajhi Bank’s share declined by 5.9%, and the share of the Saudi National Bank (the largest bank of the Kingdom) lost 6.8%, while the share of Saudi Aramco decreased by 5.3%, which is its worst daily performance since the peak of the Cofide-19 in 2020.
Oil under pressure and markets interact violently
Reuters indicated that global oil prices fell by 7% on Friday, April 4, to record their lowest levels since 2022, as a result of the pressures resulting from the trade war and China’s statements, in addition to the sudden increase in the production of the “OPEC Plus” coalition, which surprised global markets.
Reuters said that the Trump advertisement last Wednesday, April 2, caused panic in global markets, as the companies listed on the Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost about 5 trillion US dollars of their market value in just two days, which is one of the worst declines recorded in modern American history.
China expressed its categorical rejection of the fees. The government media quoted it as saying on Saturday, April 5, that “the market said its speech in rejecting American customs duties … We call on Washington for equality consultations.”
The decline extends to other Gulf markets
And the declines extended to the rest of the Gulf markets.
- The general index on the Qatar Stock Exchange decreased by 4.2% in the first session after the Eid Al -Fitr holiday, affected by the decline in Qatar Industries, by 8.2% and the arrow of Qatar National Bank by 4%.
- The Kuwaiti market fell by 5.7%, in a sharp daily loss.
- The Sultanate Stock Exchange decreased by 2.6%, while the Bahrain Stock Exchange recorded a decrease of 1%.
Outside the Gulf, the main index of the Egyptian Stock Exchange EGX30 fell by 3.3%, driven by a decrease in real estate shares, most notably the Talaat Mustafa Holding Group, whose share fell by 4.5%, according to data reported by Reuters.
