THE Bahrain Bourse (BHB) concluded trading yesterday with both key indices registering a decline. Despite the dip in the main indices, trading activity was robust, with a heavy concentration of transactions in the financial sector.
The Bahrain All Share Index closed the day at 2,030.34, marking a decrease of 7.19 points compared to its previous closing. Similarly, the Bahrain Islamic Index closed lower at 996.68, dropping by 1.46 points.
Investors executed a total of 110 transactions yesterday. The overall trading volume reached 7,424,782 shares , with a total value of BD2,119,320.
The financial sector was the undisputed focus of yesterday’s trading, driving nearly half of the total value. The total traded value for shares in the financial sector reached BD1,048,201, accounting for 49.46 per cent of the total trading value. Volume in the sector was 5,232,953 shares, executed through 47 transactions.
Out of the 17 companies whose shares were traded, four companies saw their share prices rise, seven experienced a price decrease, and the remaining maintained their previous closing prices.
Three companies dominated the trading value, collectively driving a significant portion of the day’s total turnover.
BMMI led the market, with its shares accounting for BD694,600 in value, representing 32.77pc of the total traded value. This was achieved by trading 1,510,000 shares in three deals.
GFH Financial Group followed in second place, with shares valued at BD509,802.34, or 24.05pc of the total trading value. This involved 2,315,916 shares traded across 16 deals.
Al Salam Bank secured the third spot, with traded shares valued at BD488,802.37, or 23.06pc of the total traded value. This volume was 2,173,385 shares, executed through 16 transactions.
Most Gulf stock markets ended lower on weak oil prices yesterday, although revived expectations of a US interest rate cut in December limited losses.
Oil prices – a catalyst for the Gulf’s financial markets – eased as oversupply concerns outweighed worries that Russian shipments will remain under sanctions as talks to end the Ukraine war remain inconclusive.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index was down 1.5pc, dragged lower by a 2.7pc fall in Saudi Aramco shares. Bloomberg News reported that the oil giant is exploring options to raise several billion dollars through asset sales.
Dubai’s main share index gave up early gains to close 0.1pc lower, with Emaar Properties falling 1.1pc. Dubai approved a 2026-2028 budget with 302.7 billion dirhams ($82.42bn) in expenditure and 329.2bn dirhams in revenue, the state news agency said on Sunday. In Abu Dhabi, the index ended 0.1pc lower.
The Qatari index declined 0.9pc, with shares in Qatar Islamic Bank losing 1.1pc.
Meanwhile, global stocks rose yesterday and were on pace for a third straight session of gains while the US dollar eased.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were lower in the early stages of trading, weighed down by a drop in Nvidia , although declines were curbed somewhat by gains in Google parent Alphabet.
Investors were also sifting through a flurry of economic data, some of which was delayed due to the 43-day US government shutdown.
Retail sales rose 0.2pc in September after an unrevised 0.6pc gain in August, the Commerce Department said, short of the 0.4pc rise expected by economists polled by Reuters. A separate report from the Labour Department showed the Producer Price Index for final demand increased 0.3pc after an unrevised 0.1pc drop in August, which matched expectations, as the cost of energy goods surged and producers passed on some tariffs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 133.69 points, or 0.29pc, to 46,581.96, the S&P 500 fell 8.10 points, or 0.12pc, to 6,697.02 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 120.05 points, or 0.52pc, to 22,751.96. Trading volume is likely to dwindle towards the US Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow, when markets will be closed and have an abbreviated session on Friday.
In currencies, the dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, fell 0.41pc to 99.79, with the euro up 0.45pc at $1.1572. Sterling strengthened 0.6pc to $1.3182 ahead of Britain’s upcoming budget announcement today, while traders piled into the options market seeking protection against heightened volatility. Traders have been closely watching for signs of possible Japanese intervention in the yen, which strengthened 0.55pc against the greenback to 156.05 per dollar but is down 1.3pc for the month.
US crude fell 2.72pc to $57.24 a barrel and Brent fell to $61.78 per barrel, down 2.51pc after news reports cited a US official saying that Ukraine had agreed to a peace deal.
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