(Reuters) – Most major stock markets in the Gulf were subdued on Monday, tracking oil prices and Asian shares lower, while the Abu Dhabi index bucked the trend.
Oil prices – a key catalyst for the Gulf’s financial markets – dipped in Asian trade as investors tread cautiously ahead of fresh economic data from top consumers the United States and China this week, though expected crude supply cuts from Saudi Arabia and Russia limited losses.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index (.TASI) dropped 0.2%, hit by a 0.4% fall in Al Rajhi Bank (1120.SE) and a 1.2% decline in Banque Saudi Fransi (1050.SE).
Among other losers, Saudi National Bank (1180.SE) fell 0.4%. The kingdom’s largest lender wanted to increase its stake in Credit Suisse to around 40% from 9.88%, but was prevented from doing so by Swiss regulator FINMA, Blick newspaper reported on Sunday.
UBS (UBSG.S) completed the emergency takeover of Credit Suisse last month, forging a Swiss banking and wealth management giant with a $1.6 trillion balance sheet and overseeing more than $5 trillion in assets.
The deal converted Saudi National Bank’s stake in Credit Suisse into just 0.5% of UBS.
In Qatar, the index (.QSI) retreated 0.8%, as most of the stocks on the index were in negative territory, including the Gulf’s biggest lender Qatar National Bank (QNBK.QA), which was down 1.4%.
Dubai’s main share index (.FTFADGI) was flat, hovering near an eight-year high.
The Abu Dhabi index (.FTFADGI) rose 0.1%.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into the United Arab Emirates rose 10% in 2022 from the previous year to a record $23 billion, the United Nations trade body said in a report on Wednesday.
FDI inflows, globally, fell 12% in the year, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said in its World Investment Report 2023.
