The Saudi Stock Exchange recorded its first annual loss in 7 years after ceasing operations in the financial markets of the Middle East on Thursday, while the Egyptian Stock Exchange posted the best performance in the region in 2022.
By the end of the session on Thursday, the main Saudi index “TASI” fell by 0.1%, but recorded an annual loss of 7.1%, reaching its lowest level in 20 months, according to Reuters.
In early May, the index hit its highest level in almost 17 years.
The currencies of most Gulf countries are pegged to the US dollar, and member countries are closely watching the policy moves of the Federal Reserve, which leaves them vulnerable to the direct impact of monetary tightening in the United States.
In Qatar, one of the world’s largest exporters of liquefied natural gas, the main index fell 1.1% and recorded its first annual loss since 2017, down 8.1%.
On the other hand, the Kuwaiti stock index recorded a year-to-date gain of 6.5%, the main Oman stock index rose 17.6%, and the Bahraini index ended the year up 5.5%.
Outside the Gulf region, Egypt’s leading stock index, the EGX30, rose 0.1% in late trading on Thursday, posting a 22% annualized gain, making it the most bullish index in 2022.
And the Egyptian stock exchange recouped its previous losses to rally in the last quarter of the year, after an agreement with the International Monetary Fund to lend to the country to overcome an external financing crisis, and after the pound fell significantly against the dollar this year.
A source: “Reuters“