Gulf Markets Surge on Trump's Election Victory Claims

In today’s early trading, major exchanges in the Gulf posted gains following Donald Trump’s announcement of victory against Democrat Kamala Harris in the U.S. presidential election. This marks a significant return of Trump to politics after serving as president four years ago.

The Saudi Arabia benchmark index rose by 0.9%. This increase was led by Al-rajhi Bank, which saw a 2.1% gain, and Saudi Arabian Mining Company, which experienced a 3.9% rise. Additionally, the shares of Saudi Electricity Company climbed 5.9% after reporting a significant increase in its net profit for the third quarter.

Dubai’s main stock index also increased by 0.5%, with toll operator Salik Company rising by 1.9%. This uptick followed the announcement on Tuesday by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai, who stated that the UAE aims to triple its foreign direct investment to 2.2 trillion dirhams by the year 2031.

The Abu Dhabi index recorded a modest increase of 0.1%.

Meanwhile, crude oil prices fell by up to 2% after two days of gains. This decline is attributed to the strengthening dollar resulting from Trump’s anticipated victory and a larger-than-expected increase in U.S. crude oil stocks.

The Qatari stock market was closed today due to a public holiday.