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On Sunday, major Gulf bourses had wrapped up the session in red inks with Saudi’s benchmark index leading the tally of losses, as Omicron cases, a milder variant of pandemic contagion that is unlikely to cause hospitalization even in the elderly according to recent studies, began to soar across the region.
In factuality, in the day’s declines in Gulf bourses were almost entirely dragged down by a sharp spike in pandemic cases across the region as beforementioned, while financial and tourism stocks dropped by the most.
On top of that, latest uptick in pandemic cases had weighed significantly on investors’ morale as the pandemic resurgence came forth over Mid-east’s peak tourism season with UAE hosting millions of visitors at its Expo 2020 Dubai world fair alongside other events.
Adding further strains on investors’ morale, health authorities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had advised residents to avoid unnecessary foreign travels.
Most Mid-east bourses wrap lower
Citing statistics, in the day’s Mid-east bourse wind-down, Saudi’s benchmark index dipped 0.9 per cent with Al Rajhi Bank and Saudi National Bank, the resource-rich Kingdom’s largest lender, losing 0.9 per cent and 1.4 per cent respectively.
Besides, Dubai’s main index added 0.5 per cent following a 7.5 per cent leap in Deyaar Development, while Abu Dhabi’s benchmark index shed 0.4 per cent with Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank falling as much as 2.2 per cent.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index edged 0.8 per cent higher, while the country’s leading lender Commercial International Bank soared 1.7 per cent. Elsewhere in the Gulf, Qatari bourse shed 0.4 per cent with the Gulf’s largest lender, Qatar National Bank plunging 0.7 per cent, while Bahrain closed out session 0.4 per cent higher.
Aside from that, Oman and Kuwait drowned 0.1 per cent and 0.2 per cent respectively.
