Amid fears over U.S. tariffs and a potential global trade war, Asian and Gulf stock markets witnessed a sharp downward trend at the beginning of the new week.
Japan’s Nikkei Index fell by 9%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped by 8%. In South Korea, trading was temporarily halted due to concerns of a severe market downturn.
Additionally, the Australian stock market suffered a loss of $160 billion, with the benchmark S&P index plunging 6% within the first 15 minutes of trading.
On the other hand, the Saudi stock market also faced a massive loss of 500 billion riyals. The Saudi benchmark Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) dropped by 700 points to close at 11,200. Oil giant Aramco alone suffered a 340 billion riyal loss in share value, while the Saudi National Bank and other major companies also faced significant losses.
According to Saudi media, stock markets in Qatar, Kuwait, Muscat, and Bahrain also experienced declines. The Kuwait stock market fell by 6.6%, Qatar by 5.5%, the Muscat index by 2.1%, Bahrain by 2.5%, and Oman by 2.6%.
Saudi media further reported that this was the biggest decline in Gulf stock markets since May 2020.
