Major stock markets declined today, Thursday, with the main index of the Qatari stock exchange dropping 1.3%, continuing its losses for the third session as most sectors declined. The index was affected by a 5% drop in shares of Qatar Aluminum Manufacturing Company and a 2.4% decline in shares of Investment Holding. Shares of Qatar National Bank, the largest bank in the region, fell by 2.5%, and Qatar Islamic Bank dropped by 1.3%.
The Dubai market index fell by 0.2%, impacted by a 3.5% drop in shares of Bank of Sharjah and a 2% decline in Air Arabia shares. Emirates NBD, the largest bank in Dubai, saw its shares decrease by 0.7%.
The main index of the Saudi market closed down 0.1% as shares of Bank Alinma dropped by 1.5% and Almarai Company lost 2.3%. However, shares of Al-Mawashi Company closed up by 17.5% in their first trading session after rising by 30% during the session.
Abu Dhabi's index continued its gains for the fifth consecutive session, closing up 0.4%. Shares of International Holding Company increased by 0.5%, while its subsidiary, Alpha Dhabi, surged by 10.5%, marking the highest increase during trading since November. However, shares of First Abu Dhabi Bank declined by 1.5%.
Outside the Gulf region, the leading Egyptian stock index broke a three-session losing streak with a slight increase, buoyed by a 1.7% rise in shares of Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals and a 7.2% increase in Qalaa Holdings. Conversely, shares of Commercial International Bank and eFinance retreated by 0.6% and 1.5%, respectively. The Central Bank of Egypt is expected to keep overnight interest rates unchanged on Thursday.
