GCC Stocks Close Lower as UAE Leads Regional Decline

Dubai | EcoPulse24

Broad-Based Selling Weighs on All Five GCC Markets

Major Gulf stock markets closed lower on Thursday, with all five benchmark indices ending in negative territory as investors trimmed positions across the region.

The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) recorded the steepest decline, with its benchmark index falling 1.43% to 6,024.59, followed by the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), whose general index lost 1.17% to close at 9,876.06.

Saudi Arabia's Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) declined 0.67% to 10,933.23, while the Qatar Stock Exchange fell 0.38% to 10,281.81. Boursa Kuwait posted the smallest decline among the five major GCC markets, slipping 0.27% to 8,687.40.

Saudi Arabia Records the Region's Largest Turnover

Trading activity remained robust across regional exchanges despite the broad decline.

Saudi Arabia generated the highest trading value, with SAR 4.23 billion changing hands through 396,282 transactions, involving 207.57 million shares.

In the UAE, the ADX recorded AED 1.70 billion in traded value and 358.13 million shares across 27,202 trades, while the DFM posted AED 1.00 billion in turnover on 237.27 million shares through 17,319 transactions.

The Qatar Stock Exchange reported QAR 413.50 million in traded value, with 152.03 million shares exchanged across 29,743 trades, while its market capitalization stood at QAR 758.64 billion.

Meanwhile, Boursa Kuwait recorded KWD 80.33 million in turnover on 341.30 million shares, executed through 22,458 transactions.

EcoPulse24 GCC Market Snapshot

EcoPulse24 Analysis

Thursday's session ended with declines across all five major GCC equity markets, with the UAE recording the largest percentage losses among the region's benchmark indices.

The session also recorded substantial trading turnover across Gulf exchanges. Saudi Arabia posted the highest traded value, while the Abu Dhabi and Dubai markets together generated more than AED 2.7 billion in turnover.

The combination of lower benchmark indices and elevated trading values indicates that the pullback occurred during a liquid trading session rather than one characterised by limited market activity. However, the available market data do not identify the specific factors behind the declines, nor do they indicate whether the selling was concentrated in particular sectors or broadly distributed across the market.

Investors will look to upcoming trading sessions and future market data to assess whether Thursday's declines prove temporary or develop into a broader trend.