Egyptian bourse was the Middle East’s best performer in 2022

The Saudi Arabian stock market ended lower on Wednesday, marking its first annual loss in seven years, while the Egyptian bourse was the Middle East’s best performer in 2022.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index (.TASI) eased 0.1%, hit by a 1.1% fall in Al Rajhi Bank (1120.SE).

The index, which hit its highest level in nearly 17 years in early May, finished the year down 7.1% at a near 20-month low.

According to Wael Makarem, senior market strategist – MENA at Exness, stock markets have witnessed a difficult period in 2022 as inflation, rising interest rates and the war in Ukraine strongly impacted investor sentiment.

Most Gulf Cooperation Council countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, have their currencies pegged to the U.S. dollar and follow the Federal Reserve’s policy moves closely, exposing the region to a direct impact from monetary tightening in the world’s largest economy.

The kingdom’s largest lender, Saudi National Bank (1180.SE), finished 1.2% higher. It has, however, lost more than $15 billion in market value since Oct. 27 after committing to invest up to 1.5 billion Swiss francs ($1.62 billion) in embattled Swiss bank Credit Suisse Group