Gulf Stocks Climb With Qatari Index Leading Gains

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Despite a potential TikTok investment, Saudi markets struggled while Gulf stocks rose on the back of Qatar’s strong corporate earnings.

What does this mean?

Gulf markets got a boost from the US policy announcements but it was Qatar that led the way on the back of strong earnings reports. Commercial Bank of Qatar rose 3.9% on steady profits and a higher proposed dividend, and Qatar Fuel Company climbed 1.8% ahead of it making its earnings announcement. The market in Dubai also rose 0.2%, with a 1.4% rise from Emirates NBD. On the other hand, ACWA Power and Elm Company, both companies which are involved in major purchases, suffered losses and thus pushed Saudi Arabia’s market slightly down. On a positive note, Kingdom Holding has jumped 3.2 per cent as it contemplates buying a stake in ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok. Meanwhile, Egypt’s market has kept on rising as the tensions between the two countries decrease. In the international scene, the proposed tariffs by the US on Chinese and other countries are already being factored into the world investment strategies.

Of the two, Qatar and Egypt have issued strong earnings reports and have no tension. But Saudi’s minor losses are there and they are there because of the mixed investor sentiment that is there for the strategic interests such as TikTok. These regional developments are being weighed by investors against the potential for global trade upheavals embodied in new tariffs.

The bigger picture: Global trade policies at play.

The changes in the global trade policies, which have been issued by Trump, present the changes in the international trade relations that may affect the market trends across the globe. These changes are likely to affect companies that depend on the supply and demand of goods and services in the global market as they try to adjust to the new tariffs and political environment.