Middle East Market Wrap 26 August: Qatar Leads the Main Boards as Oil Falls a Third Day
Most Middle East benchmarks rose on Wednesday even as the commodity that underwrites the region’s public finances fell for a third consecutive session. Seven of the twelve headline indices in our table finished higher, on our reading. Qatar’s QE Index was the strongest of the main boards, up 0.71 percent at 9,854.10 on our calculation against our last published close, while Saudi Arabia’s parallel Nomu market led the whole table at plus 0.93 percent to 21,823.53.
The reason crude was falling is itself a Gulf story. Reuters reported that global stocks edged up and weaker oil pushed bond yields lower on hopes that the Strait of Hormuz could soon reopen, after Iran and Oman said they had discussed a joint temporary navigational corridor through the strait and agreed to clear it of mines, which Reuters described as rejuvenating hopes for a breakthrough in the nearly six-month conflict that has roiled oil markets. At our capture ICE Brent for October delivery was down 2.52 percent at 86.35 dollars a barrel and West Texas Intermediate for October down 2.43 percent at 80.36 dollars. Reuters reports the strait handled a fifth of the world’s traded oil before the conflict. A return toward normal flows would leave the region’s exporters with a lower price and a working export route at the same time, on our reading.
Qatar leads the main boards, and the United Arab Emirates splits
The clearest divergence of the session was inside a single country. Dubai’s DFM General Index rose 0.55 percent to 5,866.79 on the exchange’s own daily closing table, while Abu Dhabi’s FTSE ADX General Index fell 0.34 percent to 10,035.86. Abu Dhabi was the weakest board in the region and Dubai the third strongest. The two markets sit in the same federation, under the same currency and the same monetary policy, and they finished 0.89 percentage points apart, on our calculation.
The FTSE ADX 15 fell 0.30 percent to 10,625.91 while the FTSE ADX Growth Market Index, a separate series covering the exchange’s Growth market segment rather than the main board, eased 0.07 percent to 482.12. We do not draw a conclusion about breadth from two readings. The Edge did not confirm a driver for the Abu Dhabi decline at an approved originator and does not offer one.
Saudi Arabia was firm across all three indices we track. The Tadawul All Share Index closed 0.25 percent higher at 11,259.90, the MSCI Tadawul 30 rose 0.42 percent to 1,519.30 and the Nomu parallel market added 0.93 percent to 21,823.53. Oman’s MSX 30 gained 0.40 percent to 7,532.53 with 24 issues higher and 19 lower.
Egypt falls in pounds and rises in dollars
Egypt produced the session’s most instructive number, and it is a currency number rather than an equity one. The EGX 30 opened at 55,277.03, exactly our published close of the previous session, and closed at 55,106.54, down 0.31 percent. Measured in dollars, however, the same index rose 0.09 percent to 3,724 on the exchange’s own dollar-denominated series.
The gap is the pound. The Central Bank of Egypt set the official rate for 26 August at 50.1481 buy and 50.2880 sell, against 50.3513 and 50.4906 the day before. That is the dollar easing about 0.40 percent against the pound, on our calculation, and it is almost exactly the wedge between the index falling 0.31 percent in local currency and rising 0.09 percent in dollars. An Egyptian investor had a slightly worse day; a dollar-based holder of the same index had a marginally better one.
Kuwait, the policy rates and a long weekend
Kuwait’s two headline indices were narrowly lower, with the Premier Market the weakest Gulf benchmark outside Abu Dhabi on unrounded figures. It eased 0.20 percent to 9,302.73 and the All-Share Index 0.08 percent to 8,894.37. The internals were better than the headline: the BK Main 50 rose 0.86 percent and the Main Market 0.48 percent, so the weakness sat in the large caps rather than across the board, on our reading. Boursa Kuwait recorded 327.8 million shares traded, 88.8 million dinars in value and 25,802 trades.
The Central Bank of Kuwait published a discount rate of 3.5 percent, an overnight repo of 3.125 percent, a one-week repo of 3.375 percent and a one-month repo of 3.625 percent, all stamped 26 August and unchanged from the previous publication on our reading. It set the dinar at 0.306850 to the dollar, unchanged on the day.
Boursa Kuwait has confirmed it will be closed on Thursday 27 August for the birth of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, resuming on Sunday 30 August. The Muscat Stock Exchange lists the same date as a holiday on its own exchange calendar. Kuwaiti and Omani investors therefore go into a three-day break with oil falling and the Hormuz question unresolved, and whatever happens between now and Sunday reaches the board in a single session.
The smaller boards
Bahrain’s All Share Index eased 0.20 percent to 1,943.21 from a previous published close of 1,947.07, on 158 trades and 771,952.939 dinars of value, a thin session by any measure. Bahrain Bourse published no 25 August close. The Amman Stock Exchange, which published no 25 August close, reported its index at 4,017.13, up 0.18 percent.
Away from equities the dollar firmed 0.20 percent on the ICE dollar index to 99.109. The Treasury’s own daily par yield curve puts the United States 10-year at 4.64 percent on 25 August, its most recent published reading at our capture. Reuters reported the United States 2-year steady at 4.195 percent on Wednesday. COMEX gold for December eased 0.40 percent to 4,675.80 dollars and September silver was near flat at 68.64 dollars. Natural gas was the only commodity on our board to rise, adding 1.84 percent.
Middle East equities, 26 August close
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Nomu Parallel Market (Saudi Arabia) | 21,823.53 | +0.93% |
| QE Index (Qatar), on our calculation | 9,854.10 | +0.71% |
| DFM General (Dubai) | 5,866.79 | +0.55% |
| MSCI Tadawul 30 (Saudi Arabia) | 1,519.30 | +0.42% |
| MSX 30 (Oman) | 7,532.53 | +0.40% |
| Tadawul All Share (Saudi Arabia) | 11,259.90 | +0.25% |
| ASE Index (Jordan) | 4,017.13 | +0.18% |
| Kuwait All-Share (Kuwait) | 8,894.37 | -0.08% |
| Bahrain All Share (Bahrain) | 1,943.21 | -0.20% |
| Kuwait Premier Market (Kuwait) | 9,302.73 | -0.20% |
| EGX 30 (Egypt) | 55,106.54 | -0.31% |
| FTSE ADX General (Abu Dhabi) | 10,035.86 | -0.34% |
Commodities, intraday 26 August
| Contract | Level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Henry Hub natural gas, September 2026 | $2.821 | +1.84% |
| COMEX silver, September 2026 | $68.64 | -0.06% |
| COMEX gold, December 2026 | $4,675.80 | -0.40% |
| WTI crude, October 2026 | $80.36 | -2.43% |
| ICE Brent crude, October 2026 | $86.35 | -2.52% |
Currencies, rates, volatility and crypto, intraday 26 August
| Instrument | Level | Change or note |
|---|---|---|
| VIX | 15.70 | +1.62% |
| ICE dollar index | 99.109 | +0.20% |
| USD/JPY | 159.24 | +0.05% |
| EUR/USD | 1.1655 | -0.16% |
| GBP/USD | 1.3606 | -0.32% |
| Bitcoin | $78,397.62 | -0.66% |
| US 10-year Treasury yield | 4.64% | official par yield curve, 25 August |
| USD/KWD, Central Bank of Kuwait | 0.306850 | official rate, 26 August, unchanged |
| USD/EGP, Central Bank of Egypt | 50.1481 buy / 50.2880 sell | official rate, 26 August |
Asia, 26 August close, for reference
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Taiex (Taiwan) | 45,832.62 | +1.47% |
| Kospi (South Korea) | 6,808.21 | +0.97% |
| Shenzhen Component (China) | 13,841.33 | +0.69% |
| Nikkei 225 (Japan) | 66,262.16 | +0.62% |
| Shanghai Composite (China) | 3,912.52 | +0.59% |
| Hang Seng (Hong Kong) | 25,652.97 | +0.56% |
| Topix (Japan) | 4,111.02 | +0.42% |
| Kosdaq (South Korea) | 826.87 | -0.03% |
| Straits Times (Singapore) | 5,721.59 | -0.25% |
| S&P/ASX 200 (Australia) | 9,127.80 | -0.40% |
| Nifty 50 (India) | 24,207.75 | -0.52% |
Europe, 25 August close, for reference
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| OMX Helsinki (Finland) | 13,712.16 | +1.58% |
| OMXS30 (Sweden) | 3,318.26 | +0.83% |
| OMXC 25 (Denmark) | 1,935.07 | +0.77% |
| DAX (Germany) | 26,266.14 | +0.61% |
| PSI 20 (Portugal) | 9,445.44 | +0.57% |
| SMI (Switzerland) | 14,525.29 | +0.54% |
| BEL 20 (Belgium) | 5,834.53 | +0.36% |
| Stoxx Europe 600 (Europe) | 656.48 | +0.35% |
| FTSE MIB (Italy) | 52,720.31 | +0.34% |
| FTSE 100 (United Kingdom) | 10,886.16 | +0.29% |
| Euro Stoxx 50 (euro area) | 6,455.63 | +0.12% |
| AEX (Netherlands) | 1,108.34 | -0.15% |
| CAC 40 (France) | 8,439.20 | -0.16% |
| IBEX 35 (Spain) | 20,056.60 | -0.21% |
United States, 25 August close, for reference
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Nasdaq Composite (United States) | 26,151.30 | +0.66% |
| Nasdaq 100 (United States) | 29,209.23 | +0.64% |
| Russell 2000 (United States) | 3,010.02 | +0.50% |
| S&P 500 (United States) | 7,677.28 | +0.32% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average (United States) | 53,577.40 | +0.30% |
Why it matters
The Gulf’s public finances are priced off crude, so a third consecutive fall in oil alongside a mostly higher equity session is the region pricing two things at once: lower near-term oil-price expectations against the prospect of a functioning export route. Those pull in opposite directions. The equity boards closed mostly higher and the oil price lower, and The Edge did not confirm a single driver for either at an approved originator. Which of them matters more depends entirely on whether the Hormuz talks hold, and that is not yet knowable from any approved source.
For Egypt the session was a currency event rather than an equity one. An investor holding the EGX 30 in pounds lost 0.31 percent; the same index measured in dollars gained 0.09 percent, because the dollar eased about 0.40 percent against the pound, on our calculation. For a country whose external position is watched through the exchange rate, the currency move is the larger of the two, on our reading.
For Kuwait the practical point is the calendar. Boursa Kuwait closes Thursday and does not trade again until Sunday, so three days of oil headlines and any Hormuz development will be absorbed in one session.
Outlook
Watch three things. First, whether the Hormuz talks Iran described with Oman produce anything an approved source can verify, since no approved source has confirmed a change in flows through the strait. Second, Abu Dhabi, the region’s weakest board, for which The Edge could establish no driver at an approved originator; a second weak session would make it a pattern rather than a print. Third, the Egyptian pound, where 26 August is a single official fixing and not yet a trend.
Middle East closes taken from each exchange after its close on 26 August 2026. Asian closes are carried from our Asia wrap of the same date; United States and European reference closes are carried from our wraps of 25 August. Commodities, currencies, rates, volatility and crypto are a single intraday capture taken at 13:10 GMT and confirmed against an earlier pull; they may differ from later screen values. Sources: Saudi Exchange; Boursa Kuwait; Qatar Stock Exchange; Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange; Dubai Financial Market; Muscat Stock Exchange; Bahrain Bourse; Amman Stock Exchange; Egyptian Exchange; Central Bank of Kuwait; Central Bank of Egypt; United States Department of the Treasury for the 10-year yield; CNBC for commodity, currency, volatility and crypto levels; Reuters; The Edge calculations.
WHAT IS AHEAD
Nvidia reports second quarter results later today, after the United States close, at about 20:20 GMT. The Bank of Korea announces its policy decision on Thursday 27 August. The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City hosts the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium from Thursday to Saturday, on its published theme of financial innovation and its implications for payments and policy, with keynote remarks from Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh on Friday. Boursa Kuwait and the Muscat Stock Exchange are both closed on Thursday 27 August for the birth of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, each confirmed on its own exchange holiday calendar, and both resume on Sunday 30 August. The Edge did not verify the Thursday schedules of the other regional exchanges and makes no claim about them.
