Middle East Market Wrap 30 August: Saudi large caps lag for a second session with 5 of 7 indices lower
The MSCI Tadawul 30 fell 0.82 percent on Sunday against 0.71 percent for the Tadawul All Share, the second consecutive session in which Saudi Arabia’s large capitalisation gauge has trailed the broader market, on our count from our own published closes. Narrower gauges also trailed broader ones in Qatar and Egypt, and in Kuwait the Premier Market trailed the all share index. 2 of the 7 national benchmarks rose and 5 fell.
3 markets returned from a longer break than the rest
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and Jordan traded on Thursday and again on Sunday. Kuwait, Oman and Egypt did not open on Thursday 27 August, so Sunday was their first session since Wednesday 26 August and their changes are measured from Wednesday’s close rather than Thursday’s.
That distinction matters for reading the board. The changes are not directly comparable across the region, and the moves below are better read one market at a time than as a single regional return.
Narrower gauges trailed the broader measures
In Saudi Arabia the MSCI Tadawul 30 fell 0.82 percent against the Tadawul All Share’s 0.71 percent, a gap of 0.11 percentage points. In Kuwait the Premier Market added 0.04 percent while the all share index gained 0.20 percent, a gap of 0.16 points. In Qatar the QE Index fell 0.13 percent while the QE All Share rose 0.03 percent, also 0.16 points. In Egypt the EGX 30 fell 0.31 percent while the equal weighted EGX 100 rose 0.37 percent and the EGX 70 rose 0.30 percent.
Those 4 comparisons are not averaged here. The indices differ in construction, and Kuwait’s and Egypt’s are measured from Wednesday’s close against Thursday’s for Saudi Arabia and Qatar, so a single regional figure would imply a comparability that does not exist.
Boursa Kuwait’s other board ran the other way. The Main Market gained 0.95 percent while the BK Main 50, which tracks the 50 most liquid companies in the Main Market by average daily traded value, gained 1.24 percent. Breadth also leaned positive where the headline index fell: Qatar counted 32 risers against 20 fallers, and Egypt 112 against 101.
Kuwait’s sectors spread 4.22 points on our calculation, from technology at 4.16 percent higher to real estate at 0.06 percent lower, with energy the second strongest at 3.27 percent. Those sector changes are measured from the Wednesday 26 August close.
Egypt, Jordan and the official rates
Egypt’s EGX 30 closed at 54,937.34, down 169.20 points. Close to half the day’s listed value was in bonds, bills and sukuk rather than equities, at 10.40 billion pounds against 12.21 billion for listed stocks, or 46.0 percent of the total on our calculation. Jordan’s index was almost unchanged at 4,008.12, down 0.02 percent, with chemical industries at 2.19 percent lower the weakest of its 14 sectors and engineering and construction at 1.25 percent higher the strongest.
The Central Bank of Kuwait put the dollar at 307.150 fils, 0.10 percent firmer against the dinar on the day, while the euro, sterling, the yen and the Swiss franc all weakened against the dinar by between 0.59 and 0.66 percent. The Central Bank of Egypt’s rate was 50.4566 pounds to buy a dollar and 50.5966 to sell.
The UAE was shut
Abu Dhabi and Dubai trade Monday to Friday and did not open on Sunday. Both were closed on Friday 28 August for the Prophet’s birthday and both resume on Monday 31 August, so their most recent completed session remains Thursday 27 August, when the FTSE ADX General Index closed at 10,044.52 and the DFM General Index at 5,882.63.
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| MSX 30 (Oman) | 7,577.846 | +0.60% |
| Kuwait All Share (Kuwait) | 8,912.00 | +0.20% |
| Premier Market (Kuwait) | 9,306.53 | +0.04% |
| QE All Share (Qatar) | 3,873.17 | +0.03% |
| ASE Index (Jordan) | 4,008.12 | -0.02% |
| Bahrain All Share (Bahrain) | 1,939.86 | -0.08% |
| Nomu Parallel Market (Saudi Arabia) | 21,771.14 | -0.12% |
| QE Index (Qatar) | 9,863.10 | -0.13% |
| EGX 30 (Egypt) | 54,937.34 | -0.31% |
| Tadawul All Share (Saudi Arabia) | 11,158.54 | -0.71% |
| MSCI Tadawul 30 (Saudi Arabia) | 1,501.95 | -0.82% |
Closes for Sunday 30 August 2026, ranked by change. Source: each index’s own exchange. Kuwait, Oman and Egypt were closed on Thursday 27 August, so their changes are measured against 26 August; the others are measured against 27 August. The count of 5 of 7 falling uses one headline national benchmark per market: the Tadawul All Share, Kuwait All Share, QE Index, Bahrain All Share, MSX 30, ASE Index and EGX 30. The remaining rows are additional segment or comparison gauges. Abu Dhabi and Dubai trade Monday to Friday and did not hold a session.
| Contract | Level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| WTI Crude, NYMEX (Oct’26), dollars a barrel | $83.41 | -0.14% |
| Brent Crude, ICE (Oct’26), dollars a barrel | $89.37 | -0.37% |
| Natural Gas, NYMEX (Oct’26), dollars a million Btu | $2.874 | -1.37% |
| Gold, COMEX (Dec’26), dollars an ounce | $4,510.00 | -3.30% |
| Silver, COMEX (Sep’26), dollars an ounce | $66.44 | -4.31% |
Most active contract quotes captured at 20:18 GMT on Friday 28 August 2026, after the settlement window, carried from our Commodities Wrap of 28 August 2026, for reference. These are quoted levels, not exchange settlements, and the changes are measured against each contract’s 27 August prior close.
| Instrument | Level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| US dollar, CBK official rate, fils per dollar | 307.150 | +0.10% |
| Saudi riyal, CBK official rate, fils per riyal | 81.907 | +0.10% |
| Euro, CBK official rate, fils per euro | 355.787 | -0.59% |
| Pound sterling, CBK official rate, fils per pound | 415.682 | -0.65% |
| CBE Exchange Rate, buy, pounds per dollar | 50.4566 | n/a |
| CBE Exchange Rate, sell, pounds per dollar | 50.5966 | n/a |
Central Bank of Kuwait official rates for 30 August 2026, T plus 2 value date. Central Bank of Egypt exchange rate for 30 August 2026, buy and sell.
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| CAC 40 (France) | 8,401.18 | +0.98% |
| Euro Stoxx 50 (euro area) | 6,485.67 | +0.95% |
| AEX (Netherlands) | 1,112.28 | +0.81% |
| IBEX 35 (Spain) | 20,041.90 | +0.81% |
| DAX (Germany), Xetra close | 26,569.99 | +0.77% |
| FTSE MIB (Italy) | 52,616.12 | +0.67% |
| BEL 20 (Belgium) | 5,869.08 | +0.52% |
| Stoxx Europe 600 (Europe) | 655.16 | +0.51% |
| PSI 20 (Portugal) | 9,430.91 | +0.44% |
| OMXS30 (Sweden) | 3,331.26 | +0.30% |
| FTSE 100 (United Kingdom) | 10,824.26 | +0.29% |
| SMI (Switzerland) | 14,399.77 | +0.11% |
Friday 28 August 2026 closes, carried from our Europe Market Wrap of 28 August 2026, for reference.
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Taiex (Taiwan) | 46,331.45 | +0.77% |
| Topix (Japan) | 4,146.71 | +0.72% |
| S&P/ASX 200 (Australia) | 9,092.30 | +0.60% |
| Nikkei 225 (Japan) | 66,405.56 | +0.41% |
| Nifty 50 (India) | 24,175.65 | +0.35% |
| Straits Times (Singapore) | 5,699.93 | +0.28% |
| Hang Seng (Hong Kong) | 25,584.79 | +0.07% |
| Shanghai Composite (China) | 3,952.179 | -0.11% |
| Shenzhen Component (China) | 13,953.066 | -0.68% |
| Kospi (South Korea) | 6,788.88 | -1.79% |
Friday 28 August 2026 closes, carried from our Asia Market Wrap of 28 August 2026, for reference.
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 53,559.99 | -0.02% |
| S&P 500 | 7,711.76 | -0.25% |
| Nasdaq Composite | 26,402.42 | -0.52% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 29,433.43 | -0.70% |
| Russell 2000 | 2,972.37 | -1.39% |
Friday 28 August 2026 closes, carried from our US Market Wrap of 28 August 2026, for reference.
Why it matters: The headline moves were modest, but a recurring pattern appeared inside several markets. In Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt the narrower gauge lagged the broader one, and in Saudi Arabia it did so for a second session running on our count from our own published closes. Kuwait was mixed, with the Premier Market trailing the all share index while the BK Main 50 ran ahead of the Main Market, which is why the pattern is worth stating as 4 separate within market observations rather than as one regional number. The comparison is not uniform across the region either, because the Kuwaiti, Omani and Egyptian changes are measured from Wednesday’s close while Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and Jordan are measured from Thursday’s. United States 2 year yields rose 14 basis points on Friday, to 4.34 percent, in a session the region did not trade through. No approved source established a driver for Sunday’s moves, so they are reported here as price facts.
Outlook: Monday brings Abu Dhabi and Dubai back to the regional board for the first time since Thursday 27 August. Monday also brings China’s August purchasing managers’ indices and Korea’s July industrial statistics, both dated 31 August on their publishers’ own schedules, and the United States August employment report follows on Friday 4 September, ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on 15 and 16 September. Whether the gap between the narrower gauges and the broader measures persists, and the Saudi run with it, is the question once the full regional board is trading again.
Sources: Saudi Exchange; Boursa Kuwait; Qatar Stock Exchange; Bahrain Bourse; Muscat Stock Exchange; Amman Stock Exchange; the Egyptian Exchange; Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange; Dubai Financial Market; Central Bank of Kuwait, foreign currencies exchange rates; Central Bank of Egypt, CBE exchange rates; National Bureau of Statistics of China and the Ministry of Data and Statistics of Korea, release schedules; Bureau of Labor Statistics, schedule of selected releases; Federal Reserve, FOMC meeting calendar; The Edge, Middle East Market Wrap of 26 and 27 August, and Commodities Wrap, Asia Market Wrap, Europe Market Wrap and US Market Wrap of 28 August 2026.
