Gulf stock markets were narrowly mixed in early trade on Sunday after oil prices fell on Friday, giving up most of the gains made earlier in the week.
Dubai’s stock index edged up 0.6 per cent with most stocks positive but Amlak Finance, which was the most traded stock in the emirate, tumbled its daily 10 per cent limit for the second session in a row.
Shares in the mortgage lender had more than doubled in price earlier this month after it resumed trading following a six-year suspension during which it restructured debt.
Meanwhile, the Dubai-listed shares of Kuwaiti firm Al Madina for Finance and Investment led gains and surged 10.3 per cent after the company reported a 71 per cent decrease in first-quarter net loss per share.
Qatar’s bourse edged down 0.3 per cent as most stocks fell. Industries Qatar, whose petrochemicals business is sensitive to oil price movements, was down 0.7 per cent.
Abu Dhabi’s benchmark edged up 0.2 per cent as heavyweight Etisalat rose 0.9 per cent. Markets in Oman and Kuwait were nearly flat.
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
WHAT IS GRAPHENE?
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.