Middle East Market Wrap 25 August: Saudi Arabia Leads as Oil Falls More Than 3 Percent
Most Middle East benchmarks advanced on Tuesday, led by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, with Dubai the clear exception, while the region’s dominant macro signal moved the other way: crude fell for a second session and by more than 3 percent.
Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index closed 0.51 percent higher at 11,231.61, the strongest of the Gulf’s main boards, and the MSCI Tadawul 30 rose 0.50 percent to 1,512.92, while the parallel Nomu market slipped 0.11 percent to 21,622.39. Qatar’s QE Index ended at 9,785.09, up 0.46 percent. Abu Dhabi’s FTSE ADX General Index added 0.22 percent to 10,070.02.
Kuwait was almost unchanged. The Premier Market rose 0.03 percent to 9,321.47 and the All-Share Index 0.02 percent to 8,901.90, with the BK Main 50 the day’s standout at plus 0.61 percent and the Main Market down 0.05 percent. Boursa Kuwait recorded 393.4 million shares traded, 106.8 million dinars in value and 29,232 trades. The exchange 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.
Oman’s MSX 30 was effectively flat, up 0.02 percent at 7,502.53 on 23.1 million rials of turnover, with 19 issues higher, 20 lower and 23 unchanged. Dubai was the region’s weakest, the DFM General Index falling 0.53 percent to 5,834.57 on the exchange’s own daily closing record. Egypt’s EGX 30 rose 0.20 percent to 55,277.03. Neither Bahrain Bourse nor the Amman Stock Exchange published a 25 August close.
The energy backdrop dominated. ICE Brent for October delivery was down 3.37 percent at 89.06 dollars a barrel and West Texas Intermediate for October down 3.52 percent at 82.02 dollars, extending Monday’s losses of more than 2 percent and deepening through the Gulf session. Reuters reported that investors largely shrugged off the expanded United States sanctions package announced on 24 August, with analysts describing the measures as marginal rather than market moving and reading a pivot toward economic pressure as a lower immediate risk to physical supply than military escalation. Profit taking after a two week rally added to the decline. Crude held in the United States Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell 3.7 million barrels in the week to 21 August to 289.7 million, the lowest since November 1982, on Department of Energy data.
For the region’s hydrocarbon exporters a second consecutive sharp fall in crude matters more than a mixed equity session, and the two are related: the Gulf boards that held their ground did so despite the energy tape, not because of it.
In currencies, the Central Bank of Kuwait set the dinar at 0.306850 to the dollar, 0.100 fils weaker than Monday. Gold for December delivery eased 0.14 percent to 4,691.40 dollars and September silver fell 0.98 percent to 67.92 dollars. The 10 year Treasury yield slipped about 4 basis points to 4.664 percent.
Middle East equities, 25 August close
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Tadawul All Share (Saudi Arabia) | 11,231.61 | +0.51% |
| MSCI Tadawul 30 (Saudi Arabia) | 1,512.92 | +0.50% |
| QE Index (Qatar) | 9,785.09 | +0.46% |
| FTSE ADX General (Abu Dhabi) | 10,070.02 | +0.22% |
| EGX 30 (Egypt) | 55,277.03 | +0.20% |
| Kuwait Premier Market | 9,321.47 | +0.03% |
| MSX 30 (Oman) | 7,502.53 | +0.02% |
| Kuwait All-Share | 8,901.90 | +0.02% |
| Nomu Parallel Market (Saudi Arabia) | 21,622.39 | -0.11% |
| DFM General (Dubai) | 5,834.57 | -0.53% |
Asia, 25 August close, for reference
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Kosdaq (South Korea) | 827.15 | +1.70% |
| Straits Times (Singapore) | 5,735.68 | +0.97% |
| Taiex (Taiwan) | 45,169.46 | +0.91% |
| Kospi (South Korea) | 6,742.74 | +0.68% |
| S&P/ASX 200 (Australia) | 9,164.60 | +0.68% |
| Nikkei 225 (Japan) | 65,856.43 | +0.50% |
| Topix (Japan) | 4,093.67 | +0.50% |
| Nifty 50 (India) | 24,334.55 | +0.48% |
| Shanghai Composite (China) | 3,889.45 | +0.19% |
| Hang Seng (Hong Kong) | 25,511.10 | -0.02% |
| Shenzhen Component (China) | 13,745.87 | -0.35% |
US and Europe, 24 August close, for reference
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| FTSE 100 (United Kingdom) | 10,854.32 | +0.35% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 53,417.16 | +0.26% |
| DAX (Germany) | 26,106.60 | -0.11% |
| Euro Stoxx 50 (euro area) | 6,447.98 | -0.22% |
| S&P 500 | 7,652.86 | -0.28% |
| CAC 40 (France) | 8,453.01 | -0.37% |
| Russell 2000 | 2,995.08 | -0.76% |
| Nasdaq Composite | 25,980.19 | -0.77% |
Commodities, intraday 25 August
| Contract | Level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| COMEX gold, December 2026 | $4,691.40 | -0.14% |
| COMEX silver, September 2026 | $67.92 | -0.98% |
| ICE Brent crude, October 2026 | $89.06 | -3.37% |
| WTI crude, October 2026 | $82.02 | -3.52% |
Currencies, rates, volatility and crypto, intraday 25 August
| Instrument | Level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin | $79,025.74 | +0.29% |
| USD/JPY | 159.24 | +0.10% |
| GBP/USD | 1.3631 | +0.01% |
| EUR/USD | 1.1663 | +0.01% |
| VIX | 15.80 | -0.32% |
| US 10-year Treasury yield | 4.664% | -4 bp |
| USD/KWD, Central Bank of Kuwait | 0.306850 | +0.03% |
| USD/EGP, Central Bank of Egypt | 50.7590 buy / 50.8974 sell | official rate, 24 August |
Middle East closes taken from each exchange after its close on 25 August 2026. Asian closes carried from our Asia wrap of the same date. Commodities, currencies, rates, volatility and crypto are a single intraday snapshot taken at 12:20 GMT and may differ from later screen values. Sources: Saudi Exchange; Boursa Kuwait; Qatar Stock Exchange; Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange; Dubai Financial Market; Muscat Stock Exchange; Egyptian Exchange; Central Bank of Kuwait; Central Bank of Egypt; CNBC for commodity, currency and rate levels; United States Department of Energy; Reuters; The Edge calculations.
WHAT IS AHEAD
Boursa Kuwait is closed on Thursday 27 August for the birth of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and resumes on Sunday 30 August. Nvidia reports second quarter results after the United States close on Wednesday, at about 20:20 GMT, and the United States releases July personal consumption expenditures inflation the same day at 12:30 GMT. The Jackson Hole symposium runs from Thursday to Saturday with the Federal Reserve chair’s keynote on Friday.
