Mideast Stocks: Gulf bourses end mixed as investors await new impetus
Stock markets in the Gulf ended mixed on Sunday, with investors seeking new catalysts as optimism over the U.S.-China trade agreement started to fade.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index fell 0.4%, hit by a 0.9% fall in Al Rajhi Bank and a 1% decrease in the country's biggest lender Saudi National Bank. Oil - a driver for the Gulf's financial markets - settled higher on Friday, notching a second straight week of gains on easing U.S.-China trade tensions, though prices were held back by expectations of higher supply from Iran and OPEC+.
The Qatari index gained 0.6%, led by a 2.1% rise in Qatar Islamic Bank. Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index retreated 0.7%, weighed down by a 2.4% slide in tobacco monopoly Eastern Company.
SAUDI ARABIA lost 0.4% to 11,439
QATAR gained 0.6% to 10,575
EGYPT down 0.7% to 31,714
BAHRAIN finished flat at 1,921
OMAN added 0.6% to 4,436
KUWAIT dropped 0.3% to 8,735
(Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru; Editing by Helen Popper)
Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Zawya
18 minutes ago
- Zawya
Huawei hosts Cloud Fintech Summit 2025
Cairo, Egypt— Huawei hosted 'Huawei Cloud Fintech Summit Egypt 2025', to accelerate digital transformation and fintech innovation across Egypt. Held under the theme 'Huawei Cloud: Becomes Egypt's Premier Fintech Partner with a Local, High-Performance Cloud,' the summit reinforces Huawei Cloud's commitment to delivering advanced, secure, and locally optimized cloud solutions tailored for the Fintech sector. During the summit, Huawei cloud showcased the latest innovations for the Fintech industry, a particular focus on end-to-end cloud services tailored for fintech companies in Egypt. By bringing together fintech companies, startups, and technology partners, the summit has become a central platform for cloud-based innovation, strategic dialogue, and ecosystem collaboration. It underscored the increasing role of cloud technology in accelerating Egypt's fintech landscape and highlighted Huawei's ongoing support to the country's Fintech industry. The summit served as a platform for global knowledge sharing, with notable contributions from key players. It highlighted the value proposition of HUAWEI CLOUD as the ideal partner for Fintech companies in Egypt. With its deep expertise and innovative solutions in security compliance, AI & big data, and database management, HUAWEI CLOUD Egypt is the only cloud provider to have achieved the NTRA Tier III certification. President of Huawei Cloud Northern Africa Cloud, Gio Feng delivered a welcome speech, stressing that on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Huawei's in Egypt, HUAWEI CLOUD has established the first public cloud region in the Northern Africa region, focusing on technological innovation, ecosystem construction, and security compliance, and enabling Egypt's Fintech vision with global experience and local commitment. Jo Xu, CEO of Huawei Cloud Egypt said, 'At Huawei Cloud, we believe the future of fintech is cloud-native, intelligent, and collaborative. This summit is a testament to our vision of delivering localized, high-performance cloud solutions that empower Fintech institutions to innovate securely and at scale. With cybersecurity at the heart of everything we build, we are committed to providing trusted, compliant cloud infrastructure that meets the evolving security needs of the financial industry specially with the cybersecurity accreditation certificate that we received from the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA), ensuring world-class compliance and security for all our partners. Egypt is poised to become a regional fintech powerhouse, and we are proud to contribute to this transformation.' He added, 'The Huawei Cloud Fintech Summit Egypt 2025 marks a new chapter in our journey to support Egypt's digital economy. With 37 years of global ICT experience, Huawei Cloud now serves over 500 financial customers across banking, insurance, securities, and fintech. Our infrastructure spans 33 regions, 93 availability zones, over 2,800 CDN nodes, and more than 170 countries and regions. We are committed to being Egypt's strategic fintech partner by offering cutting-edge technologies, trusted infrastructure, and global expertise tailored to local needs. Together, we can shape a smarter, more inclusive financial future.' As Egypt continues to emerge as a regional fintech powerhouse, Huawei remains a steadfast partner—driving growth through localized infrastructure, strategic collaborations, and globally proven, next-generation technology solutions.
Zawya
18 minutes ago
- Zawya
Nayla Finance secures Sharia Certification for Micro-Financing platform
Saudi-based Nayla Finance has announced that its micro-financing solutions platform has received Sharia certification from the Shariyah Review Bureau (SRB), a leading Sharia advisory firm licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain. This marks a key milestone in Nayla's mission to empower small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Kingdom by offering ethical and Sharia-compliant financial services. Saudi Arabia's SME sector plays a pivotal role in economic growth, contributing approximately 30% to GDP and targeted to reach 35% under Vision 2030. Yet, many small businesses still face financing barriers. 'Access to financing continues to be a major challenge for SMEs,' said Khalid Naili, Co-founder and Chief Risk Officer at Nayla Finance. 'Our platform was designed to bridge this gap by offering simple, fast, and Sharia-compliant micro-financing options to help small businesses grow. Receiving SRB's Sharia certification reaffirms our commitment to enabling inclusive and ethical financial solutions.' Speaking on the need for Sharia assurance, Mr. Naili added: 'In a region where Islamic finance is deeply rooted, ensuring our services meet Sharia principles was non-negotiable. We selected Shariyah Review Bureau for their proven track record in guiding firms across financial sectors in aligning their products with Sharia standards. Their team's insights and structured review process have helped us build a strong compliance foundation.' Shariyah Review Bureau is one of the leading providers of Sharia advisory and audit services in the region. With over 20 years of experience and clients spanning 20+ countries, SRB supports financial institutions, investment firms, and fintech platforms in managing Sharia compliance. The firm is regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain and has a global network of 40 scholars across 19 countries. In Saudi Arabia alone, SRB oversees the Sharia compliance of nearly 30% of cooperative insurance firms listed on Tadawul. 'We're pleased to be supporting Nayla Finance as they serve a critical segment of the Saudi economy,' said Yasser S. Dahlawi, Founder and CEO of SRB. 'The rise of fintechs and micro-financing platforms focused on SMEs reflects the region's growing need for Sharia-compliant, accessible finance. At SRB, we are committed to ensuring such platforms adhere to rigorous Sharia principles while scaling ethical financing in the market.' For more information on Nayla Finance, you can address khalid@ For all Shari'a Advisory related queries, you can contact hashim@
Zawya
24 minutes ago
- Zawya
Egypt: B Investments Holding's consolidated profits fall to $1.40mln in Q1-25
Cairo – B Investments Holding generated lower consolidated profits after tax at EGP 70.28 million in the first quarter (Q1) of 2025, compared to EGP 950.64 million in Q1-24. Basic and diluted earnings per share (EPS) dropped to EGP 0.35 as of 31 March 2025 from EGP 5.57 a year earlier, according to the financial results. Revenues hit EGP 138.52 million in Q1-25, down year-on-year (YoY) from EGP 230.05 million. Standalone Business In the three-month period that ended on 31 March 2025, the company turned to net losses worth EGP 5.29 million, against profits amounting to EGP 700.59 million in Q1-24. Non-consolidated revenues plunged to EGP 30.01 million in Q1-25 from EGP 39.25 million in the year-ago period. The basic and diluted loss per share hit EGP 0.02 when compared to a profit per share of EGP 4.38. Last year, the consolidated net profits after tax jumped to EGP 1.65 billion from EGP 693.76 million in 2023. All Rights Reserved - Mubasher Info © 2005 - 2022 Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
