Trading floors across the Gulf told different stories on Tuesday. In Riyadh, caution ruled. In Dubai, momentum lingered. Elsewhere, investors moved with one eye on oil flows and another on Washington.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index retreated 0.6%, giving back recent gains as unease over public finances resurfaced. A widening quarterly budget deficit — driven by higher state spending — dampened sentiment. Heavyweights dragged the board lower. Saudi Telecom Company slipped 1.7%, while oil titan Saudi Aramco eased 0.6%.
Energy traders were also parsing reports that Aramco has moved ultra-light crude cargoes from its vast Jafurah gas development to buyers in the United States and India ahead of the project’s first formal export later this month — a signal that supply channels are quietly shifting even as prices remain volatile.
In contrast, Dubai extended its rally. The emirate’s main index added 0.2% after a sharp surge in the previous session. Banking and property stocks provided the lift: Dubai Islamic Bank jumped 1.7%, and developer Emaar Properties edged up 0.6%, sustaining the upbeat tone.
Abu Dhabi followed with a 0.3% rise, supported by gains in First Abu Dhabi Bank, which climbed 0.5%.
Doha, however, moved in the opposite direction. Qatar’s index slipped 0.4%, weighed down by financial stocks. Qatar National Bank, the region’s largest bank, fell more than 0.5%, retreating after a strong rally in the prior session. Meanwhile, U.S.-based 5C Investment Partners unveiled a strategic tie-up with the Qatar Investment Authority to expand direct lending — a reminder that capital flows continue even when equities hesitate.
Beyond regional fundamentals, global politics added another layer of uncertainty. In Washington, Donald Trump warned trading partners against stepping back from newly negotiated agreements after the Supreme Court of the United States struck down his emergency tariff measures. He signaled that steeper duties could follow under alternative legal routes, days after floating an increase in temporary import tariffs to 15%.
Investors are also bracing for a fresh round of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States, scheduled to take place in Geneva on Thursday — talks that could ripple through oil markets and, by extension, Gulf bourses.
For now, the region’s markets remain finely balanced: fiscal arithmetic in Riyadh, banking momentum in Dubai, and geopolitics everywhere in between.
