Middle East Market Wrap 23 August: Saudi Arabia and Egypt Jump 1.1 Percent on Reopening
The Middle East reopened higher on Sunday, giving the region its first session to price a weekend of sanctions headlines, Thursday’s Wall Street pullback and oil’s firm Friday settlement, and it chose higher. Saudi Arabia’s TASI jumped 1.13 percent to 11,078.68 and Egypt’s EGX 30 rose 1.12 percent to 55,350.36, per the exchanges, with Boursa Kuwait’s All-Share up 0.85 percent and Muscat the region’s only decline. The United Arab Emirates, which trades Monday to Friday, was closed and returns Monday carrying Friday’s closes.
In the Gulf, the reopening was broad. Saudi Arabia’s TASI closed at 11,078.68, up 1.13 percent after the closing auction, with the MSCI Tadawul 30 up 1.20 percent at 1,490.13 and Nomu adding 0.35 percent to 21,646.82, per the Saudi Exchange. Boursa Kuwait’s All-Share rose 0.85 percent to 8,892.89, with the Premier Market up 0.75 percent at 9,308.57 and the Main Market 1.33 percent higher, per the exchange. Qatar’s QE Index edged up 0.06 percent to 9,688.30, and Bahrain’s All Share closed little changed at 1,944.38, per the bourse. Muscat’s MSX 30 eased 0.18 percent to 7,509.36 on 21 gainers against 31 decliners and 27.6 million rials of turnover, per the exchange, the region’s only decline, while Jordan’s ASE General rose 0.25 percent to 4,007.17, moving back above the 4,000 mark, per the exchange.
Egypt extended its turn higher into the new week. The EGX 30 rose 1.12 percent to 55,350.36, its first session since the central bank’s fourth consecutive rate hold, opening at Thursday’s close of 54,737.07 and touching a high of 55,517.96, with the year-to-date gain at 32.33 percent, per the exchange. The pound’s official rate firmed alongside the move: the Central Bank of Egypt’s rate for 23 August is 50.7976 buy and 50.9360 sell per dollar, about 0.03 percent firmer than Thursday’s fixing, our calculation, the first firmer print after three weaker sessions into the rate decision.
The United Arab Emirates sat the session out on its Monday to Friday calendar. Dubai’s DFM General enters the week at Friday’s close of 5,856.55, up 0.29 percent in that session, and Abu Dhabi’s FTSE ADX General at 10,004.43, down 0.71 percent on Friday, per the exchanges, with both back in action Monday.
In the wider market, the region reopened against supportive commodity prints. ICE Brent for October settled Friday at 94.39 dollars a barrel, up 0.65 percent from Thursday, our calculation from the official settlements, and WTI for October settling at 87.06 dollars, up 0.26 percent, per CNBC’s settlement report, with futures markets closed Sunday and reopening in the evening. COMEX gold for December settled Friday up 1.97 percent at 4,661.60 dollars an ounce, per CNBC. Bitcoin traded at 77,055.25 dollars in a live Sunday reading, down 0.48 percent, per CNBC, after its week of gains of about 24 percent, our calculation.
MENA equities, 23 August close, ranked by change
| Market | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| MSCI Tadawul 30 (Saudi Arabia) | 1,490.13 | +1.20% |
| Tadawul All Share TASI (Saudi Arabia) | 11,078.68 | +1.13% |
| EGX 30 (Egypt) | 55,350.36 | +1.12% |
| Kuwait All-Share | 8,892.89 | +0.85% |
| Kuwait Premier Market | 9,308.57 | +0.75% |
| Nomu Parallel Market (Saudi Arabia) | 21,646.82 | +0.35% |
| Amman ASE General (Jordan) | 4,007.17 | +0.25% |
| QE Index (Qatar) | 9,688.30 | +0.06% |
| Bahrain All Share | 1,944.38 | +0.03% |
| MSX 30 (Oman) | 7,509.36 | -0.18% |
UAE equities, Friday 21 August closes, for reference, market closed Sunday
| Market | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| DFM General (Dubai) | 5,856.55 | +0.29% |
| FTSE ADX General (Abu Dhabi) | 10,004.43 | -0.71% |
Commodities, Friday 21 August settlements, ranked by change
| Contract | Price | Change |
|---|---|---|
| COMEX gold, December 2026 | $4,661.60 | +1.97% |
| ICE Brent crude, October 2026 | $94.39 | +0.65% |
| WTI crude, October 2026 | $87.06 | +0.26% |
Currencies, 23 August
| Pair | Level | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| USD/EGP, Central Bank of Egypt | 50.7976 buy / 50.9360 sell | official rate, 23 August |
| USD/KWD | 0.3067 | little changed |
| Bitcoin | $77,055.25 | -0.48%, live Sunday market |
Why it matters: Sunday answered the weekend’s open question: handed two days of sanctions headlines and Thursday’s Wall Street pullback in one session, the region bought, our reading. Saudi Arabia’s move through 11,000 with the MSCI Tadawul 30 leading and Kuwait higher across its boards reads as investors taking oil’s firm Friday settlement near 94 dollars as the dominant signal for the exporters, our reading. Egypt’s second straight advance, now with the pound’s first firmer official print since before the rate decision, suggests the fourth hold has settled rather than unsettled positioning in Cairo, our reading. Muscat’s slip is the only counterpoint on the board, and the UAE, the one market that traded through Friday’s headlines, gets its turn to respond Monday.
Outlook: The markers from here are Bessent’s Monday press conference laying out the Iran sanctions plan, per CNBC, the UAE’s return Monday, and the futures reopening Sunday evening, which will show whether oil holds the Friday settlement that underpinned the region’s session. In Saudi Arabia the test is whether TASI holds above 11,000, and in Egypt whether the EGX 30’s momentum and the pound’s steadier fixing carry through the week, our reading.
Sources: CNBC; the Saudi Exchange; Boursa Kuwait; Bahrain Bourse; Muscat Stock Exchange; Amman Stock Exchange; the Egyptian Exchange; Central Bank of Egypt.
