Qatar's 9.24% week sets the pace as Gulf bourses split

The Gulf's stock markets ended the week moving in different directions. Qatar was the clear standout: the QE General index gained 9.24% over the week, including a 1.84% rise in its latest session on Thursday, to close at 10,065.85.

Dubai also finished the week in positive territory. The DFM General index rose 3.79% over five sessions, even after slipping 0.28% on Friday to 6,025.55. Abu Dhabi went the other way: the FTSE ADX General index fell 1.34% on Friday to 9,392.60, leaving it 0.90% lower for the week. In Riyadh, the Tadawul All Share index added 0.56% on Thursday to 10,095.42 and was up 0.42% on the week.

A reminder on the calendar: Tadawul and the Qatar Stock Exchange trade Sunday to Thursday, so their latest figures are from Thursday. Dubai and Abu Dhabi trade Monday to Friday.

A heavy Friday in the UAE

Friday's session in the UAE was broadly negative. Of 99 large-cap stocks across Dubai and Abu Dhabi, 63 fell and only 19 rose. Only two sectors gained: commercial services (+0.25%) and utilities (+0.16%). Finance slipped 0.2%. The weakest sectors were health services (−2.66%), technology services (−2.43%) and industrial services (−1.27%).

There were still bright spots. Amlak Finance rose 4.68%, Burjeel 3.17%, Eshraq Investments 2.80% and Mashreqbank 2.02%. On the losing side, Emirates Insurance fell 4.86%, Invest Bank 4.74%, Islamic Arab Insurance (Salama) 4.35% and Dubai Refreshment Company 3.23%.

Riyadh's quieter strength

The Saudi market told a more positive story in its latest session. Among 118 large caps, 71 advanced and 45 declined. Non-energy minerals led the sector table with a gain of 1.93%, followed by consumer non-durables (+1.72%) and industrial services (+1.23%). Technology services (−0.95%), health technology (−0.8%) and transportation (−0.68%) lagged.

Insurance provided the session's biggest move: the Company for Cooperative Insurance jumped 9.98%. United International Transportation rose 5.16%, Seera 4.48% and Saudi Energy 4.47%. Savola fell 5.65%, Rabigh Refining & Petrochemical 5.34%, Sustained Infrastructure 4.48% and Leejam Sports 4.34%.

The year so far

This week's gains in Doha and Dubai should be read against the full-year picture. All four Gulf benchmarks we track remain lower for the year: Qatar is down 6.47% year to date despite its strong week, Abu Dhabi 6.01%, Tadawul 3.87% and Dubai just 0.36%.

Oil, the region's defining commodity, had a difficult week. Brent crude closed at $98.32, down 11.91% over five days — although it is still 61.55% higher than at the start of the year.

What to watch

No high-importance Gulf data releases are scheduled for the coming week, so global signals will set the tone:

• Sunday: Tadawul and the Qatar Stock Exchange reopen; Dubai and Abu Dhabi follow on Monday.
• Tuesday, 03:00 UTC: China's October trade figures, with imports forecast to grow 33% year on year after 31% previously.
• Tuesday, 13:30 UTC: US October inflation, forecast at 3.9% year on year after 3.7%.

Analysis by Karim Haddad, written with AI assistance from live market data (source: TradingView) and attributed third-party headlines. For information only — not investment advice.