Stock markets across the Gulf fell on Sunday as investors worried that fighting between the United States and Iran could resume after this week’s American midterm elections — but Qatar’s market bucked the trend in dramatic fashion, jumping 4.6 percent in its sharpest single-day percentage gain in more than eight years.
A stock market index is simply a basket of leading shares that shows whether a market as a whole is rising or falling. Qatar’s benchmark index, known as the QSI, rose to 9,575 points. Most of its neighbours moved the other way.
A divided regional picture
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index slipped 0.8 percent to 9,838, with nearly all its shares ending lower. Saudi Arabian Mining Company fell 2.6 percent, and property developer Jabal Omar dropped 7.3 percent after reporting a third-quarter net loss of 261.61 million riyals, compared with a profit of 197.85 million riyals a year earlier. One bright spot was Elm Company, which gained 9 percent after reporting a 39 percent rise in quarterly profit.
Kuwait fell 0.8 percent, Bahrain 0.6 percent and Oman 0.7 percent. Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index fell 1.9 percent, days after Egypt’s central bank raised its key interest rate by one percentage point on Thursday, its first increase since March 2024.
Why Qatar rose
Investors were encouraged by steps Qatar is taking to protect its gas income. QatarEnergy, the state energy company, is working to secure long-term supplies of liquefied natural gas — gas cooled into liquid form so it can be shipped by tanker — from the United States and other producers. The idea is to protect revenues if exports through the Strait of Hormuz stay disrupted.
Credit ratings agency S&P also affirmed Qatar’s AA/A-1+ sovereign ratings with a stable outlook, pointing to the country’s large financial buffers despite the security and trade risks. Qatar National Bank, the region’s largest lender, advanced 3 percent, while Industries Qatar, linked to QatarEnergy, jumped 7.9 percent.
What it means for Pakistan
Millions of Pakistanis live and work in the Gulf, and the money they send home — remittances — is one of Pakistan’s most important sources of foreign currency. A falling stock market does not by itself mean jobs are lost, and readers should not panic over one day’s trading. But the wider point matters: as long as the region faces the risk of renewed fighting, Gulf jobs, remittances and energy costs all stay under a cloud.
Qatar’s jump is a reassuring sign that investors still trust its finances, but it is not a guarantee for the region. The key date to watch is 3 November: President Donald Trump has said the United States will not launch new attacks on Iran before the vote, and has not ruled out action afterwards.
Sources: Reuters. Written in our own words for information only — not investment advice.