Middle East Market Wrap 21 October: Egypt Gains 1.47 Percent as Qatar Snaps a Five-Session Slide
Egypt’s EGX 30 rose 1.47 percent on Wednesday, a third straight gain, and Qatar ended a five-session slide. Most of the Gulf fell again, with Kuwait’s main index down for a sixth straight session. Brent crude traded 0.17 percent higher at 108.98 dollars a barrel at 12:31 GMT.
Cairo Extends Its Run as Qatar Turns
The EGX 30 closed at 52,854.95, its third rise in a row. Qatar’s QE Index added 0.52 percent to 8,643.47, snapping five straight declines; QNB Group rose 1.53 percent and turnover reached 338.2 million riyals. Dubai’s DFM General Index gained 0.43 percent to 5,859.94, ending two days of declines, on the exchange’s own closing figure. At the Central Bank of Egypt, the dollar’s average market rate fell to 54.3377 pounds on the buy side, from 54.4592 on Tuesday.
The Gulf’s Losing Runs Deepen
Saudi Arabia’s TASI slipped 0.26 percent, a third straight decline. Boursa Kuwait’s All-Share Index fell 0.82 percent, a sixth straight decline, on turnover of 59.2 million dinars. Muscat’s MSX 30 lost 1.51 percent, a fifth straight fall, with 8 gainers against 37 decliners. Abu Dhabi’s FTSE ADX General Index slipped 0.59 percent after a single day of gains, on 1.0 billion dirhams traded. Amman’s ASE Index fell 0.69 percent, a second straight decline, and Bahrain’s All Share eased 0.14 percent for a sixth session running, on the exchange’s own change. The backdrop stayed heavy: Iran said it would not hold talks with Washington until its demands are met, relaying the position to Pakistan’s army chief through Tehran’s Nournews account, and the Houthis claimed Monday attacks on Saudi energy, airport and military sites, among them an Aramco facility in Yanbu and the Shaybah oilfield, per Reuters. The same report said the shiptracker Kpler recorded at least 18 vessel attacks in two weeks, and that Alinma Bank fell in early trade after reporting lower third-quarter profit.
Top gainers
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| EGX 30 (Egypt) | 52,854.95 | +1.47% |
| QE Index (Qatar) | 8,643.47 | +0.52% |
| DFM General (Dubai) | 5,859.94 | +0.43% |
Closes of Wednesday 21 October from the exchanges’ own pages, ranked by change against Tuesday’s closes as published; the Dubai and Bahrain changes are the exchanges’ own figures. Run lengths are counted against our published closes.
Top losers
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Bahrain All Share (Bahrain) | 1,857.54 | -0.14% |
| TASI (Saudi Arabia) | 9,926.62 | -0.26% |
| FTSE ADX General (Abu Dhabi) | 9,771.20 | -0.59% |
| ASE Index (Jordan) | 4,166.35 | -0.69% |
| Boursa Kuwait All-Share (Kuwait) | 8,330.00 | -0.82% |
| MSX 30 (Oman) | 7,439.921 | -1.51% |
Top losers, same session and basis; the Amman index’s change is measured against Tuesday’s close as published.
Commodities and currencies
| Instrument | Level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Gold, COMEX (Dec’26), dollars an ounce | 4,155.00 | +0.30% |
| Silver, COMEX (Dec’26), dollars an ounce | 57.635 | -0.63% |
| Brent Crude, ICE (Dec’26), dollars a barrel | 108.98 | +0.17% |
| WTI Crude, NYMEX (Dec’26), dollars a barrel | 98.24 | +0.43% |
| US Dollar Index (DXY) | 101.69 | -0.01% |
| Euro/Dollar | 1.1229 | -0.06% |
| Sterling/Dollar | 1.3393 | +0.11% |
| Dollar/Yen | 157.93 | -0.15% |
Intraday quotes at 12:31 GMT, in fixed order; snapshots, not settlements; changes measured against a prior settlement run from settlement to snapshot.
Official reference rates
| Rate | Level | Date |
|---|---|---|
| CBK dollar/dinar, official reference | 0.30795/05 | 21 October, value dates 22 and 23 October |
| CBE dollar/Egyptian pound, buy / sell | 54.3377 / 54.4377 | 21 October |
Dated official fixings from the Central Bank of Kuwait and the Central Bank of Egypt; the CBK value date is standard T+2 settlement, and the CBE row is the bank’s average market series.
Asia, session of Wednesday 21 October
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Kospi (South Korea) | 5,735.66 | +3.29% |
| Taiex (Taiwan) | 46,887.77 | +1.28% |
| Topix (Japan) | 4,043.73 | +0.86% |
| Nikkei 225 (Japan) | 64,621.24 | +0.85% |
| Straits Times (Singapore) | 5,437.99 | +0.63% |
| S&P/ASX 200 (Australia) | 8,831.30 | +0.16% |
| Nifty 50 (India) | 22,811.35 | -0.34% |
| Shanghai Composite (China) | 3,713.03 | -0.60% |
| Shenzhen Component (China) | 11,704.35 | -0.82% |
| Hang Seng (Hong Kong) | 23,651.87 | -0.90% |
Carried from our Asia Market Wrap of Wednesday 21 October, gainers then losers. The Nifty 50 is the exchange’s own closing figure, measured against Monday’s close across Tuesday’s Dussehra market holiday.
Why it matters: The region split along one line on Wednesday: Cairo extended its rally and Doha turned higher, while the Gulf’s losing runs stretched to five and six sessions. Of the 19 indices we published on Wednesday, the Kospi led at 3.29 percent and Muscat’s MSX 30 lagged at 1.51 percent lower, on our count.
Outlook: The IMF’s Regional Economic Outlook for the Middle East and Central Asia lands on Thursday at 06:15 GMT, with the Bank of Korea’s rate decision the same day. Meta reports after Wednesday’s New York close. Commodity prices follow in our commodities wrap at midday and its settlements update after the New York close.
How these wraps are prepared: Methodology.
Sources: Egyptian Exchange, Qatar Stock Exchange, Boursa Kuwait, Saudi Exchange, Dubai Financial Market, Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, Bahrain Bourse, Muscat Stock Exchange, Amman Stock Exchange, Central Bank of Kuwait, Central Bank of Egypt, Reuters, The Edge.
