Gulf Markets Suffer Heavier Losses

Gulf Markets Suffer Heavier Losses

 Gulf Markets Incur Heavy Losses Following US Tariffs

The markets in Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain opened trading on Sunday with sharp declines exceeding 5% in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar. This decline was due to the wave of declines in global markets at the end of last week, as a result of the trade war between the United States and other countries, and also to sharp declines in oil prices.

The Saudi TASI index fell 5.08% to 11,278.92 points at the opening of the session.

The Kuwait Premier Market Index declined 5.13% to 8,154.08 points, and the General Market Index fell 4.85% to 7,610.58 points. The Qatar Stock Exchange index fell 5.26% to 9,685.7 points. The Bahrain All Share Index declined by 0.11% to 1,936.33. The Muscat Stock Exchange index declined by 1.93% to 4,282.8 points.

The Abu Dhabi and Dubai stock exchanges are closed for the weekend today, Sunday. The banking sector in the Gulf stock markets recorded sharp losses amid fears of a potential recession in the US economy.

Global financial markets witnessed a sharp decline over the course of two days, following US President Donald Trump's imposition of tariffs on most of the United States' trading partners, raising renewed fears of a global recession. The S&P 500 index fell by 10% over Thursday and Friday, wiping out more than $5 trillion in market capitalization.

The total decline amounted to 17.4% from its February 19 high, marking one of the deepest two-day declines in seven decades. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite index officially entered a bear market, reflecting the growing anxiety in global markets.