It’s a bruising start to the week for MENA equities as global markets recoiled from the Trump administration’s decision to impose a blanket 10% tariff on all imported goods, effective last Saturday. Slumping oil prices and mounting fears of a prolonged trade war sparked a broad-based selloff.

Tadawul takes the biggest hit on Aramco plunge: The Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) plunged 6.8% on Sunday — its worst session since May 2020. Saudi Aramco led the sharp losses, erasing more than USD 90 bn of market cap mid-session. Meanwhile, the Nomu parallel market also fell 6.50%.

Over in Egypt, the EGX30 lost 3.34% yesterday following a strong rally in recent months, with Fawry, Qalaa Holdings, and Rameda leading the losses. The index is still up 3.02% YTD.

Meanwhile, the UAE saw Dubai’s DFM fall 1.51%, and Abu Dhabi’s ADX slip 0.76% on Friday. Investors will be watching for more downside during today’s open, as markets had closed Friday ahead of the official tariff rollout.

Elsewhere: Qatar’s QE Index dropped 4.23%, with almost every listed company closing in the red. Oman’s MSX30 fell 2.6%, while Jordan’s ASE dropped 2.1% amid its inclusion in the high-tariff group. Tunisia’s Tunindex edged down 0.13%, and Morocco’s MASI lost 0.15%.

IN CONTEXT- The base 10% tariff came into effect over the weekend, with steeper rates — up to 49% — on goods from 57 countries set to hit this Wednesday, 9 April. Much of the Arab world dodged the worst of the tariffs — including Saudi, the UAE, Egypt, Morocco, and others, who are only facing the 10% levy — others were less fortunate: Syria (41%), Iraq (39%), Libya (31%), Algeria (30%), Tunisia (28%), and Jordan (20%) are facing higher rates.

MARKETS THIS MORNING-

Asian markets are still taking a beating, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng leading losses after falling nearly 9%. Mainland China’s CSI 300 fell 5.4%. Japan’s Nikkei is also down more than 6%, after falling earlier in the day by 8%, triggering a circuit breaker. Wall Street futures also indicate another sell-off when markets open later today.

ADX

9,187

-0.8% (YTD: -2.5%)

DFM

4,951

-1.5% (YTD: -4.0%)

Nasdaq Dubai UAE20

3,946

-2.4% (YTD: -5.2%)

USD : AED CBUAE

Buy 3.67

Sell 3.67

EIBOR

4.2% o/n

4.3% 1 yr

TASI

11,077

-6.8% (YTD: -8.0%)

EGX30

30,640

+3.3% (YTD: +3.0%)

S&P 500

5,074

-6.0% (YTD: -13.7%)

FTSE 100

8,055

-5.0% (YTD: -1.4%)

Euro Stoxx 50

4,878

-4.6% (YTD: -0.4%)

Brent crude

USD 65.58

-6.5%

Natural gas (Nymex)

USD 3.84

-7.3%

Gold

USD 3,035.40

-2.8%

BTC

USD 78,047

-6.7% (YTD: -16.4%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The ADX fell 0.8% last Friday on turnover of AED 1.1 bn. The index is down 2.5% YTD.

In the green: Rapco Investment (+6%), AL Khaleej Investment (+5.3%) and Gulf Cement Co. (+3.9%).

In the red: Umm Al Qaiwain General Investment Co.(-10%), Rak Co. for White Cement & Construction Materials (-7.7%) and Adnoc Drilling (-5.7%).

Over on the DFM, the index fell 1.5% on turnover of AED 632.9 mn. Meanwhile, Nasdaq Dubai was down 2.4%.

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