The Bahrain Bourse saw an active day of trading yesterday, with the Bahrain All Share Index closing higher at 1,943.21, marking a rise of 6.17 points.
Meanwhile, the Bahrain Islamic Index also increased by 5.76 points, ending the day at 917.45.
A total of 2.04 million shares were traded, with a total value of BD637,860. These transactions were completed through 75 separate deals. The financial sector was the most active, accounting for 41.02pc of the total trading value, with 1.26m shares traded for a value of BD261,670.
GFH Financial Group was the top company in terms of trading value, with its shares accounting for 26.87pc of the total, valued at BD171,420. BMMI came in second, with a trading value of BD137,760, representing 21.60pc of the total. Beyon was third, with its shares valued at BD105,710, or 16.57pc of the total trading value.
In total, shares of 15 companies were traded. The stock prices of four companies increased, while four others saw a decline, and the remaining companies maintained their previous closing prices.
Gulf stock markets were largely steady yesterday. Qatar and Egypt markets, however, saw extended losses, driven by profit-taking.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index rose 0.6pc, for the fifth consecutive session, with buying concentrated in information technology and financial shares. Saudi National Bank jumped more than 1.5pc, while Saudi Telecom advanced nearly 1pc. Oil behemoth Saudi Aramco added 0.1pc, marking its seventh straight day of gains.
Dubai’s main share index finished 0.1pc higher in a quiet session, helped by gains in utilities and real estate. Emaar Properties advanced 0.7pc, consolidating two days of gains after the developer scrapped plans to sell any stake in its Indian subsidiary and said it is exploring potential joint ventures with major Indian companies, including Adani Group. Dubai Electricity and Water Authority advanced 1.5pc.
Abu Dhabi’s index also edged up 0.1pc, extending two sessions of gains, lifted by a 1.7pc increase in Adnoc Drilling. Adnoc Gas ended flat after rising as much as 1.4pc. The company signed a $513m contract with a subsidiary of China Petroleum Engineering. Newly listed Orascom Construction surged 4pc, extending gains from the previous two sessions. Separately, US chip giant Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s Technology Innovation Institute announced the launch of a joint research lab in the UAE to develop next-generation AI models and robotics platforms.
In contrast to its regional peers, Qatar’s stock index slipped 0.4pc, weighed down by broad-based sectoral declines. Industries Qatar fell 1.5pc, while Qatar Islamic Bank dropped more than 1pc. Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index shed 0.1pc, dragged down by a 1pc decline in Commercial International Bank.
MSCI’s global stock index was edged higher and the dollar fell along with Treasury yields as investors digested US President Donald Trump’s latest visa restrictions and waited for economic data and commentary from Federal Reserve officials.
Trump said on Friday that US companies would need to pay $100,000 for new H-1B worker visas, a potential blow for the dominant US tech sector.
India’s benchmark indexes lost ground after the H-1B announcements as India’s $283bn information technology sector, which gets more than half its revenue from the US, is expected to feel the pain in the near term. The move follows Trump’s doubling of tariffs on imports from India last month to as much as 50pc, partly due to New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil.
In currencies, the US dollar index was looking to snap a three-day winning streak as investors awaited Fed comments with a view to gauging the monetary policy outlook after the central bank cut rates by 25 basis points last week.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, fell 0.23pc to 97.50. The euro was up 0.21pc at $1.1769. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar weakened 0.03pc to 147.9.
Meanwhile, Argentina’s international dollar bonds rallied after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said “all options for stabilization are on the table” to support Argentina, with more details available after Argentine President Javier Milei and US President Donald Trump meet today in New York.
In US Treasuries, the yield on benchmark US 10-year notes fell 0.4 basis points to 4.135pc, from 4.139pc late on Friday while the 30-year bond yield rose 0.5 basis points to 4.7615pc.
The 2-year note yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations for the Federal Reserve, rose 0.2 basis points to 3.584pc, from 3.582pc late on Friday.
In energy markets, oil prices fell as concerns over Russia and the Middle East were countered by oversupply jitters.
US crude fell 0.4pc to $62.43 a barrel and Brent fell to $66.38 per barrel, down 0.45pc on the day.
In precious metals, gold prices hit fresh record highs, buoyed by investors’ heightened expectations of a dovish rate-cut path, ahead of remarks by Fed officials and key inflation data later in the week.
Spot gold rose 0.99pc to $3,720.18 an ounce. US gold futures rose 1.34pc to $3,720.80 an ounce.
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