The Arab Monetary Fund issued the 124th edition of the Quarterly Bulletin on the Performance of Arab Stock Markets, noting that Arab financial markets recorded mixed performance during the first quarter of 2026 amid global geopolitical and economic developments and their impact on international and regional financial markets.
The Fund explained that the Composite Index of Arab Financial Markets increased by 0.79% compared to the end of the fourth quarter of 2025, supported by improved performance in a number of major Arab markets, particularly the Saudi stock market. On an annual basis, the index recorded growth of 2.8%.
The Fund indicated that five Arab stock exchanges recorded gains during the period, supported by stronger performance in the banking, energy, industrial, telecommunications, utilities, and services sectors. In contrast, eleven Arab exchanges recorded declines due to weaker performance across the real estate, financial services, basic materials, petrochemicals, transport, and insurance sectors.
The Muscat Stock Exchange recorded the highest increase among Arab markets at 39.23%, followed by the Tunis Stock Exchange at 14.24%, and the Egyptian Exchange at 8.35%. Meanwhile, the Saudi stock market, which carries the largest relative weight among Arab markets, recorded an increase of 7.23%.
The Fund added that the market capitalization of Arab financial markets increased by approximately USD 134.5 billion, or 3.2%, reaching USD 4.34 trillion by the end of the first quarter of 2026, compared to around USD 4.21 trillion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2025. This growth was mainly driven by the rise in the market capitalization of the Saudi stock market.
The value of traded shares in Arab financial markets also recorded a slight increase of 0.1%, reaching approximately USD 269 billion during the first quarter of the year, amid higher trading activity in six Arab exchanges, compared to declines in ten others.
The Fund noted that Arab financial markets were influenced by several internal and external factors, including geopolitical developments in the region, rising oil and energy prices, and continued uncertainty related to global trade policies and interest rates, which affected liquidity levels, market volatility, and sectoral performance across Arab markets.
The full bulletin is available at the following link:
https://www.amf.org.ae/ar/publications/nshrt-aswaq-almal/alnshrt-alfslyt-alrb-alawl-2026