Bahrain Bourse (BHB) All Share Index closed at 1,971.17 points yesterday, marking an increase of 5.69 points above the previous closing.
Bahrain Islamic Index closed at 940.58 points, marking an increase of 6.40 points above the previous closing.
Investors on the Bahrain Bourse traded 3,273,374 shares with a total value of BD763,121, executed through 82 transactions.
Investors traded mainly in the financial sector with a total value of BD557,876, representing 73.10pc of the total trading value. As many as 2,612,946 shares were executed through 39 transactions.
Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index also rose yesterday, gaining 97.24 points, or 0.85 per cent, to close at 11,591.69.
The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was 5.62 billion Saudi riyals ($1.49bn), as 214 of the listed stocks advanced, while only 36 retreated.
The MSCI Tadawul Index also increased, up 9.87 points or 0.66pc, to close at 1,506.61.
The kingdom’s parallel market Nomu lost 59.64 points, or 0.23pc, to close at 25,803.22. This comes as 36 of the listed stocks advanced, while 49 retreated.
The best-performing stock during yesterday’s session was SHL Finance Company with its share price surging by 9.99pc to 23.56 riyals.
Other top performers included Saudi Company for Hardware, which saw its share price rise by 6.75pc to 31 riyals, and Methanol Chemicals Company, which saw a 5.67pc increase to 10.62 riyals.
Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Company and CHUBB Arabia Co-operative Insurance Company followed with shares surging by 5.51pc and 5.41pc to 8.23 riyals and 40.90 riyals, respectively.
On the down side, the worst performer of the day was Naseej International Trading Company for the second consecutive trading session, whose share price fell by 3.54pc to 77.55 riyals.
Saudi Reinsurance Company and Tihama Advertising and Public Relations Company also saw declines, with their shares dropping by 2.73pc and 2.16pc to 33.50 riyals and 15.40 riyals, respectively.
Flynas Company and Leejam Sports Company also saw declines. Their share prices dropped by 1.7 pc and 1.22pc to 78.20 riyals and 138 riyals, respectively.
In a move aimed at enhancing market liquidity, Saudi Exchange Company has announced its approval for Morgan Stanley Saudi Arabia to act as the official Market Maker for Saudi Industrial Export Company and Al Kathiri Holding Company, effective today.
According to a statement, the appointed firm will be obligated to maintain a minimum order presence of 50pc and a maximum bid-ask spread of 2pc for both stocks, with a minimum order size of 75,000 shares, as it conducts its activities in accordance with the kingdom’s Market Making Regulations.
Shares of Saudi Industrial Export Company traded 1.42pc higher in yesterday’s trading session on the main market, closing at 2.14 riyals. Al Kathiri Holding Company shares also saw positive change, trading up 1.4pc on the main market to close at 2.17 riyals.
Other Gulf stocks ended mixed yesterday amid renewed US-China trade tensions and expectations of US Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts, while oil prices rebounded from five-month lows.
US President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to impose 100pc tariffs on Chinese goods by November 1, in response to China’s curbs on rare-earth elements and equipment.
Beijing defended its measures on Sunday as justified but stopped short of imposing additional levies on US goods.
Oil rose as investors focused on potential talks between the US and Chinese presidents that could ease tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
Dubai’s main share index fell 0.5pc, hit by a 1.8pc fall in top lender Emirates NBD and a 0.7pc decrease in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties. Dubai-based classifieds firm Dubizzle Group said yesterday it plans to sell a 30.34pc stake in an initial public offering (IPO) on the Dubai Financial Market.
In Abu Dhabi, the index eased 0.2pc. The Qatari index ended flat.
On the monetary policy front, traders are now pricing in a 25-basis-point cut each in October and December by the Federal Reserve, with a 97pc and 91pc chance, respectively.
Policy shifts in the US, where most Gulf currencies are pegged to the dollar, often sway regional markets.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index added 0.1pc.
MSCI’s global equities gauge rose yesterday to regain some ground lost in Friday’s steep sell-off after US President Donald Trump softened his tone on the US-China trade war, but safe-haven gold hit fresh record highs in a sign that uncertainty remained high.
Investors were placated after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said yesterday that Trump is on track to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping in late October as the two sides try to de-escalate trade tensions.
MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe rose 8.93 points, or 0.92pc, to 981.18, regaining some but not all lost ground after it fell more than 2pc on Friday.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 584.20 points, or 1.28pc, to 46,063.66 after falling sharply on Friday.
The S&P 500 rose 101.10 points, or 1.54pc, to 6,653.61 after losing 2.7pc in the prior session and the Nasdaq Composite rose 474.62 points, or 2.14pc, to 22,679.05 after falling more than 3pc on Friday.
Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio strategist at Ingalls & Snyder in New York, noted some signs of remaining scepticism in the market as investors were still buying gold.
“Gold is the fear trade. Even with Trump backing away from the 100pc tariffs on China, there is fear out there and gold is traditionally the place to hide,” he said. Also, BofA commodities analysts said in a note yesterday that they had raised their forecast for gold to $5,000 an ounce for next year from $4,400.
Spot gold breached $4100 per ounce for the first time and was last up 2.1pc to $4,101.82 an ounce. US gold futures rose 3.07pc to $4,098.00 an ounce.
Earlier the pan-European STOXX 600 index closed up 0.44pc although France remained in the spotlight with reappointed Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu facing pressure to get a budget deal approved.
In currencies, the dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, rose 0.19pc to 99.24.
The euro was down 0.4pc at $1.1571 while against the Japanese yen, the dollar strengthened 0.75pc to 152.28.
In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin gained 0.22pc to $115,315.32.
Oil prices rose yesterday after hitting five-month lows on Friday, as investors focused on easing of US-China trade tensions and assurances that Trump will meet his counterpart later this month.
US crude settled up 1pc or 59 cents at $59.49 a barrel and Brent finished at $63.32 per barrel, up 0.94pc or 59 cents on the day.
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