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Arab Financial Markets Improve Amid Trump Inauguration

A Saudi dealer monitors the stock market in Riyadh. (Reuters)
A Saudi dealer monitors the stock market in Riyadh. (Reuters)
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Arab Financial Markets Improve Amid Trump Inauguration

A Saudi dealer monitors the stock market in Riyadh. (Reuters)
A Saudi dealer monitors the stock market in Riyadh. (Reuters)

Arab financial markets reacted positively to the inauguration of US President Donald Trump for a new term on Monday, despite concerns from some nations about the tariffs he plans to impose. The tariffs are expected to affect global trade flows and pricing.

Trump’s swearing-in also coincided with the start of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas on Sunday, which is set to have a favorable impact on market sentiment.

Experts told Asharq Al-Awsat that easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East has played a role in boosting economic stability across Arab markets. They anticipate significant improvements in market performance throughout the region, particularly in the Gulf, in the near future—raising optimism for robust economic growth.

Mohammed Al-Farraj, Senior Head of Asset Management at Arbah Capital, noted that global economic forecasts point to noticeable improvement following Trump’s inauguration.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Al-Farraj attributed this optimism to several key factors, including heightened political stability, strengthened supply chains, and supportive monetary and fiscal policies introduced by the new US administration.

The gradual reduction of tariffs on US imports is expected to have a major impact on the labor market and inflation, fostering a more stable and growth-friendly economic environment for Arab markets, particularly those in the Gulf, he went on to say. The Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) is poised to lead this growth.

Dr. Salem Baajajah, an economic expert and academic at King Abdulaziz University, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Trump’s inauguration is likely to generate substantial gains for US markets due to his pro-growth policies. This, in turn, will positively influence global financial markets, especially in the Gulf.

Reduced geopolitical tensions in the Middle East—along with the Gaza truce and prisoner exchange agreements—have further strengthened economic stability across Arab markets, he added.

Meanwhile, most Arab and Gulf stock markets closed higher on Monday, achieving varying levels of gains.

The Saudi Stock Exchange’s main index (TASI) ended Monday’s session up by 0.40%, closing at 12,379 points—its highest level since May 8. The increase was driven by a 4.4% rise in Aqua Power shares, while Aramco, the heaviest-weighted stock on the index, remained flat at SAR 28.15.

The Qatari index climbed 0.40% to close at 10,508 points, supported by a 2.2% rise in Industries Qatar shares. Kuwait’s index rose by 0.53%, while the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange saw a modest increase of 0.08%.

Dubai’s main index, however, declined by 0.30%, impacted by a 2.9% drop in Salik shares. Similarly, Bahrain’s index fell slightly by 0.08%.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index slipped 0.37%, weighed down by a 0.9% decline in shares of Commercial International Bank. Morocco’s Casablanca Stock Exchange index dropped by 0.33%. Conversely, Oman’s Muscat Stock Exchange posted a slight gain of 0.03%.

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Business

China Says It Will Buy 200 Boeing Jets, Seek Extension of US Trade Truce

Signage is displayed above The Boeing Company booth at Special Operations Forces (SOF) Week at the Tampa Convention Center on May 19, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)
Signage is displayed above The Boeing Company booth at Special Operations Forces (SOF) Week at the Tampa Convention Center on May 19, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)
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China Says It Will Buy 200 Boeing Jets, Seek Extension of US Trade Truce

Signage is displayed above The Boeing Company booth at Special Operations Forces (SOF) Week at the Tampa Convention Center on May 19, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)
Signage is displayed above The Boeing Company booth at Special Operations Forces (SOF) Week at the Tampa Convention Center on May 19, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)

China on Wednesday said it will buy 200 Boeing jets and seek an extension of a trade truce struck with the US that is set to expire this November.

The statement marked Beijing's first confirmation of the Boeing order, though it did not elaborate on the types of planes China would buy.

If finalized, the orders would mark Boeing's first major Chinese deal in nearly a decade, after the US planemaker was largely shut out of the world's second-largest aviation market amid trade tensions between Beijing and Washington.

US President Donald Trump visited China last week ‌for a summit ‌with President Xi Jinping, in a trip that produced ‌a series ⁠of trade pledges ⁠including the Boeing purchase and agricultural market access.

Trump said after the Beijing summit that the Boeing purchases could rise to as many as 750 planes, adding that they would be fitted with GE Aerospace engines.

The US will provide China with supply guarantees for aircraft engine parts and components under the Boeing deal, the Chinese ministry said.

TRADE TRUCE

The two sides will seek reciprocal tariff cuts on $30 billion or more worth of goods each, the ⁠ministry said, adding that US tariffs on China must not ‌exceed the level set under an arrangement reached ‌last year.

China and the US reached an agreement in Kuala Lumpur before a Trump-Xi meeting in ‌South Korea in October that extended their tariff truce for a year.

The deal ‌included US tariff reductions on Chinese products and a pause in Beijing's new restrictions on rare earth minerals and magnets, which are vital for technologies like consumer electronics, electric vehicles and defense.

The statement came after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Reuters that the Trump administration ‌was "not in a rush" to extend the tariff and critical minerals trade truce with China, signaling more trade talks with Beijing ⁠in the coming months ⁠to renew it.

Both sides will work together to address each other's concerns on export controls, the ministry said, adding that Beijing reviews export license applications for critical minerals including rare earths that are intended for civilian uses.

The White House said in a fact sheet released on Sunday that China would purchase at least $17 billion of US agricultural products from 2026 to 2028, excluding the existing soybean commitment.

The Chinese commerce ministry statement did not confirm the number, but said the two sides achieved "positive results" in the agricultural sector and reached agreements on mutual market access.

Beijing will restore registration of eligible US beef exporters and resume imports of some US poultry products, the ministry said.

The US has pledged to remove or make progress on several non-tariff barriers affecting Chinese agricultural exports, with steps that would facilitate exports of Chinese dairy products, it added.

Business

UK Inflation Slows to 2.8% in April

Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves arrives at Downing Street in London , Britain, 13 May 2026. EPA/NEIL HALL
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves arrives at Downing Street in London , Britain, 13 May 2026. EPA/NEIL HALL
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UK Inflation Slows to 2.8% in April

Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves arrives at Downing Street in London , Britain, 13 May 2026. EPA/NEIL HALL
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves arrives at Downing Street in London , Britain, 13 May 2026. EPA/NEIL HALL

British consumer price inflation slowed to 2.8% in April from 3.3% in March, according to official figures published on Wednesday.

Economists polled by Reuters had mostly expected inflation to soften to 3.0%, in large part due to the big increases in utility and other regulated prices in April last year falling out of the annual comparison.

Before the US-Israeli war on Iran began on February 28, the Bank of England said inflation in Britain - the highest among the Group of Seven economies for much of the last four years - was likely to be close ⁠to its 2% ⁠target in April.

But the energy price shock from the war prompted the BoE to increase sharply its inflation forecasts which, it says, could hit 6.2% early next year under its most inflationary scenario.

British finance minister Rachel Reeves is expected to announce on Thursday more measures to help ⁠reduce the cost of living, including a possible cancellation of a fuel duty increase which is due to come into effect in September.

The finance ministry is also pressing supermarket chains to introduce voluntary price caps on key food products in return for easing some regulations, two people with knowledge of the situation said on Tuesday.

The key question for the BoE's interest rate-setters is whether the expected rise in headline inflation creates longer-term price pressures in the economy.

Several have said the ⁠weak ⁠jobs market could make it harder for workers to demand higher pay and for businesses to pass on higher costs.

Preliminary data from the tax office published on Tuesday showed a sharp fall in people in payrolled employment and weaker pay growth. Wage settlement figures published earlier on Wednesday pointed to a slowdown in pay growth too.

Financial markets on Tuesday were betting on two quarter-point interest rate rises by the BoE this year, with a chance of a third. A Reuters poll of economists published last week showed most expected no change in rates in 2026.

Business

Union Calls Strike at South Korea Chip Giant Samsung Electronics

Union Calls Strike at South Korea Chip Giant Samsung Electronics
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Union Calls Strike at South Korea Chip Giant Samsung Electronics

Union Calls Strike at South Korea Chip Giant Samsung Electronics

A planned strike at South Korean chip giant Samsung Electronics will go ahead from Thursday, its union said, after talks on bonus payouts collapsed, raising concerns over a disruption to the country's key semiconductor industry.

The walkout, set to begin Thursday, is expected to dwarf a 2024 strike that drew about 6,000 workers at the world's top memory chipmaker.

The dispute centers on profit-sharing at a key player in the global semiconductor supply chain, with its chips widely used in artificial intelligence systems and consumer electronics.

The tech giant's shares have surged nearly 400 percent over the past year on the back of an AI boom, and saw its market capitalization top $1 trillion for the first time in May.

The union had called for the scrapping of a bonus cap set at 50 percent of annual salaries and for 15 percent of operating profit to be allocated to bonuses.

"Around 10:00 pm on May 19, the labor union agreed to the mediation proposal put forward by the National Labor Relations Commission; however, management expressed its refusal," it said in a statement on Wednesday.

"The labor union will lawfully commence a general strike tomorrow as scheduled."

According to the union's lawyer, around 50,500 workers are set to walk off production lines for 18 days from Thursday following the breakdown of negotiations with management.

Samsung's management said the talks failed because "acceding to the labor union's excessive demands would risk undermining the fundamental principles of the company's management".

"Under no circumstances should a strike take place," it said.

Concerns are growing within the South Korean government that a prolonged union strike could hurt the export-driven economy, with chips making up about 35 percent of exports.

South Korea's presidential office voiced "deep regret" over the collapse of the talks, urging both sides to keep working toward an agreement given the strike's "potential repercussions for the Korean economy".

Some experts say even a partial halt in Samsung's operations could prove damaging -- though the union argues that production stoppages have already occurred in the past for reasons related to maintenance and equipment inspections.

The government could invoke emergency mediation powers -- a measure that could halt strikes or other industrial action and trigger mediation if they are deemed a threat to the national economy.

But Tom Hsu, an analyst at Taipei-based research firm TrendForce, said the strike's potential impact may be limited.

"Due to the high level of automation in front-end facilities, TrendForce expects Samsung's DRAM and NAND Flash production to remain at full capacity," he told AFP.

"Any potential impact from the strike is likely to be confined to non-memory business segments."

A Suwon court this week granted Samsung Electronics an injunction requiring staffing and operations to be maintained at normal levels during any walkout.

Kim Sung-hee, director of Workers' Institute for the Industrial and Labor Policy, said that while the strike could cause losses, "they are unlikely to be irreversible".

The strike does not mean it would "automatically trigger an economic crisis," he told AFP.

Samsung is a major producer of chips used in everything from artificial intelligence to consumer electronics, raising the prospect that the planned strike could cause severe disruption and losses.

The company said this year it had begun mass production of next-generation high-bandwidth memory chips, HBM4, seen as a key component for scaling up the vast data centers needed for AI development.

The dispute unfolds against the backdrop of an AI boom that is benefiting South Korean tech groups, boosting national growth and the stock market.

Both Samsung and its domestic rival SK hynix posted record profits in the first quarter, driven by global demand for AI chips.

Long staunchly anti-union, late founder Lee Byung-chul once vowed never to allow unions "until I have dirt over my eyes".

Samsung Electronics' first labor union was formed in the late 2010s.