GCC stock markets drop sharply on Trump win

Stock markets in the Gulf fell sharply in line with global bourses in morning trade on Wednesday as investors faced up to a shock win by Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election.

Saudi Arabia’s index pulled back 2.7 per cent in the first 10 minutes of trade as a little over nine-tenth of the traded shares declined.

Petrochemical shares, which have been robust over the last several weeks turned south as Brent futures were down 1.7 per cent to $45.3 a barrel. Saudi Basic Industries pulled back 1.2 per cent.

The banking sector was also hit, with some of the best performers over the last month the main losers; National Commercial Bank slumping 3.3 per cent.

The Gulf market’s most sensitive to foreign fund flows, Dubai’s market sunk 2.7 per cent as almost all traded shares pulled back. Emaar Properties lost 3.5 per cent and Dubai Investment pulled back 3.9 per cent.

Abu Dhabi’s index was down 1.7 per cent as two-thirds of the traded shares dropped. Blue chip First Gulf Bank was down 1.3 per cent and Aldar Properties, which had reported a quarterly earning’s beat earlier this week, retreated 3.8 per cent.

In Doha, nine-tenth of the top 20 most valuable shares pulled back, dragging the index down 2.2 per cent. The largest listed stock by market value lost 2.4 per cent.

Investors fear a Trump victory could cause global economic and trade turmoil and years of policy unpredictability, discouraging the Federal Reserve from raising interest rates in December as long expected.

Also read: Trump elected President of the United States

Oil prices drop, gold rates up as Trump declared US President