The Arab Monetary Fund issued the 57th edition of its Arab Financial Market Monthly Bulletin covering April 2025, reporting a broad decline across Arab financial markets amid global volatility following the United States’ announcement of higher tariffs on imports from 180 countries, including 19 Arab nations. Concerns over slowing economic growth, rising inflation and geopolitical tensions also weighed on most exchanges, although improved liquidity and investor confidence helped mitigate losses. Six Arab stock markets posted gains, led by Dubai Financial Market (+4.14%) and Iraq (+3.46%), supported by telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, technology and banking, while seven markets declined as energy, financial services and transportation weakened. Muscat, Kuwait and Palestine fell by 1.16% to 1.64%, and Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Casablanca and Amman recorded deeper drops reaching up to 5.6%. The bulletin links an early-month global sell-off to the tariff announcement, with the S&P and NASDAQ down 9% to 13.7%, and notes that a subsequent three-month suspension helped emerging markets rebound around 6.26%, followed by recoveries in Europe and Asia; for the region, the MSCI Arab index fell 1.1% and the Gulf sub-index fell 1.2%. It also highlights that several central banks in Europe, New Zealand and Egypt cut interest rates, while most Arab central banks held rates steady, against a backdrop of rising protectionism and its potential impact on production costs and global trade.

Original source View in tracker