The Bahrain Bourse concluded trading yesterday with a decrease in its key indices. The Bahrain All Share Index closed at 1,936.43, down 4.88 points from its previous closing.
The Bahrain Islamic Index also saw a drop, settling at 907.82, a decrease of 4.03 points.
A total of 1.86 million shares were traded, with a total value of BD811,380, executed through 74 transactions.
Trading was concentrated on the non-Bahraini companies sector, which accounted for 41.95 per cent of the total traded value, amounting to BD340,400.
This was achieved through the trading of 349,600 shares in nine transactions.
Kuwait Finance House (KFH) topped the list of most actively traded companies by value.
Its shares accounted for BD340,400, or 41.95pc of the total value of shares traded. This involved the trading of 349,600 shares across nine transactions.
BMMI came in second place, with a trading value of BD157,050, representing 19.36pc of the total value.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index ended lower yesterday, falling 6.92 points, or 0.07pc, to close at 10,427.06.
The total trading turnover reached 6.55 billion riyals ($1.74bn). A total of 160 stocks advanced, while 89 declined.
The MSCI Tadawul 30 Index slipped 3.90 points, or 0.29pc, to finish at 1,358.14.
The kingdom’s parallel market Nomu, however, gained 37.71 points, or 0.15pc, to settle at 24,950.56, with 39 gainers against 35 losers.
Among the top performers, Fawaz Abdulaziz Alhokair Company surged 9.95pc to 26.08 riyals, while Saudi Ceramic Company climbed 6.65pc to 29.20 riyals.
National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia rose 6.36pc to 23.90 riyals, United International Holding Company gained 5.26pc to 156 riyals, and Gulf General Cooperative Insurance Company advanced 4.03pc to 4.65 riyals.
On the losing side, Saudi Real Estate Company dropped 2.53pc to 15.79 riyals, while Al Moammar Information Systems Company fell 2.23pc to 131.50 riyals.
Dubai’s benchmark stock index edged 0.2pc higher, extending its gain to a third consecutive session, supported by a 6.9pc rise in Gulf Navigation and a 2.4pc advance in the emirate’s largest lender, Emirates NBD.
The Abu Dhabi benchmark index was up for a third straight day, climbing 0.2pc. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank rose 4pc and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank added 2.3pc, while Aldar Properties lost 1.1pc.
Blue-chip developer Aldar said it has sold Al Deem townhomes, generating over 1.8bn dirhams ($490.09m).
The Qatari benchmark index eased 0.3pc after two straight sessions of gains.
Industries Qatar slipped 1.7pc and telecom firm Ooredoo dropped 1.1pc.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index rose for a fourth consecutive session, and was up 0.2pc. Commercial International Bank advanced 1.5pc and Arabian Cement gained 3.4pc.
Global shares hit a fresh record high yesterday as markets positioned for the US Federal Reserve to begin its monetary policy easing cycle this week. Gold prices were also hovering near a record as the US dollar weakened.
Traders widely expect the Fed to deliver a 25 basis-point cut at the end of its policy meeting tomorrow, with the probability of such a move near 100pc, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.
MSCI’s All-country index rose to 976.86, up 0.47pc, topping last week’s record high. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit fresh intraday record highs while the Dow was flat.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.01pc to 45,839.54, the S&P 500 rose 0.47pc to 6,615.31 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.82pc to 22,323.25.
Stocks in Europe rose 0.40pc on the day. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares closed higher by 0.10pc.
In currencies, the US dollar dropped against its peers ahead of the Fed’s expected rate cut.
It was down 0.23pc to 147.315 against the Japanese yen and was down 0.27pc to 0.79420 against the Swiss franc.
The euro shrugged off Fitch’s downgrade of France late last week, rising 0.27pc to $1.1767.
It was a touch weaker against sterling, trading at 86.5 pence, down 0.1pc on the day .
The euro has been underpinned by a steady outlook for EU rates, with the European Central Bank signalling last week it was in a “good place” on policy.
A host of ECB officials are due to speak this week, including President Christine Lagarde.
Cryptocurrency bitcoin was down 1oc at $114,735, slipping for a third straight session.
The US and China reached a framework agreement to switch short-video app TikTok to US-controlled ownership, an arrangement that will be confirmed in a call between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday, UA officials said.
Nvidia’s shares were down 0.47pc after China’s market regulator said yesterday that a preliminary investigation had found that the company had violated the country’s anti-monopoly law, marking the latest hit for the US chip giant.
Oil prices rose as investors assessed the impact of Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries.
Brent crude futures rose 0.61pc, to $67.39 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 was at $63.23 a barrel, up 0.85pc.
Gold prices rose to hover near record highs, underpinned by a softer dollar and lower Treasury yields. Spot gold rose 0.66pc to $3,666.52 an ounce.
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