The Arab Monetary Fund has issued Issue No. 120 of its Quarterly Bulletin on the Performance of Arab Stock Markets, reporting mixed performance across Arab exchanges in the first quarter of 2025. The AMF Composite Index increased by 1.55% by end-Q1 2025 compared with end-Q4 2024, with annual growth of 4.37%, while total market capitalisation across Arab financial markets fell 1.45% to around USD 4.32 trillion. Five Arab exchanges recorded gains during the quarter, led by Casablanca (+20.19%), followed by Tunis (+10.25%), Kuwait (+9.66%), Egypt (+7.68%) and Amman (+6.12%). Ten exchanges declined, with Saudi Arabia, Palestine and Abu Dhabi down by less than 1%, and other decreases ranging from 1.21% in the Dubai Financial Market to 12.69% in the Beirut Stock Exchange. Total trading value fell 2.60% to USD 250.53 billion, and the decline in market value equated to about USD 63.77 billion versus Q4 2024. The bulletin attributes the divergence in market performance mainly to anticipation of new tariffs announced by the US administration during the quarter and associated supply-chain and cost pressures, partly offset by cautious monetary policies by central banks that supported liquidity and capital flows. It also flags continued concern that escalating US trade policies could slow global trade and lift inflation.

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