Most Gulf markets retreat on global trade war worries — TradingView News

Most stock markets in the Gulf ended lower on Monday as U.S. import tariffs sparked concerns over global economic growth, dampening the investor appetite for risky assets.

U.S. President Donald Trump, in a Fox News interview on Sunday, declined to predict whether his tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico would result in a U.S. recession.

Tariffs have been a key concern for investors, with many believing that they can hurt economic growth and be inflationary.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index TASI dropped 0.8%, with Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) 1211 retreating 5.5%, following three sessions of gains.

Last week, Ma’aden reported 2024 net profit up 82% year on year at 2.87 billion riyals ($765 million).

Among other fallers, oil giant Saudi Aramco 2222 closed 1.3% lower.

However, Derayah Financial (4084.SE) soared 30% in debut trade – the maximum daily limit allowed for newly listed stocks during their first three days of trading.

Dubai’s main share index DFMGI declined 1.7%, weighed down by a 4% slide in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties EMAAR and a 4.4% decrease in toll operator Salik Co SALIK.

In Abu Dhabi, the index FADGI lost 0.6%.

A run of soft U.S. economic data continued on Friday after monthly figures showed the labour market created fewer jobs than expected in February, in the first payrolls report covering Trump’s early days in office.

Investors now await the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) data due on Wednesday and Producer Price Index (PPI) data expected on Thursday, to gauge the outlook for the Federal Reserve’s interest rate stance.

Monetary policy in the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is usually guided by the Fed’s decisions, as most regional currencies are pegged to the dollar.

The Qatari index GNRI, however, nudged 0.1% higher, helped by a 1.5% rise in Qatar Gas Transport Nakilat QGTS.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index EGX30 finished flat.

Egypt’s annual urban consumer price inflation decreased to 12.8 pct in February from 24.0 pct in January, data from statistics agency CAPMAS showed on Monday.

($1 = 3.7513 riyals)