Al-Shal Report: The British Market the Biggest Winner in July
The performance of the sample markets in July was neutral, with indices in seven markets gaining, while those in seven other markets, including five Gulf markets, lost ground compared to their levels at the end of June. Compared to their levels at the end of 2025, the markets were also evenly split, with seven gaining and seven losing.
Al-Shal said the UK market was the biggest gainer in July, with its index rising by 3.5%, bringing its year-to-date gains to 9.4% and placing it third among gaining markets. It was followed by the German market, which gained 2.5%, and then the Indian market, which rose by 2.1%, although it remained the biggest loser year-to-date with a decline of 8.4%.
He added that the French market ranked fourth with gains of 1.3%, followed by the Abu Dhabi market with 0.8%, making it the market with the smallest year-to-date loss at -1.1%. The Kuwait Stock Exchange saw its general index gain approximately 0.6% during July, reducing its year-to-date losses to -1.7%. The US Dow Jones index recorded the smallest gains in July, rising by just 0.3%.
On the other side, the Japanese market led the list of losers, with its index falling by approximately 8.1%. Despite this, its year-to-date gains remained at 27.9%, keeping it in the top position among gaining markets, ahead of the Muscat Stock Exchange, which was the second-largest gainer year-to-date with gains of 24.4%. The Chinese market followed with losses of 6.4%, moving into negative territory with year-to-date losses of approximately 3.4%.
The Bahrain Stock Exchange recorded losses of 4.2%, followed by the Qatar Stock Exchange with 3.1%, remaining the second-largest loser year-to-date with an index decline of approximately 7.8%. Both the Dubai market and the Muscat Stock Exchange recorded equal monthly losses of approximately 2.7%. The Saudi market was the least loser in July, after its index fell by 1.9%, ending the first seven months of the year with the lowest gains among the sample markets at 0.9%.
The performance of the sample markets in July was influenced by two opposing factors. One was positive, reflecting analysts’ consensus on the US Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged. The other was negative, driven by the heat of geopolitical events in the region following the resumption of armed hostilities. Consequently, the outcome was neutral, with half of the sample markets gaining and the other half losing. Five of the seven losing markets were Gulf markets affected by these military operations.
Al-Shal added that following the US President’s decision last Saturday/Sunday to halt a major attack on Iran, the performance of the sample markets in August will be determined by the durability of the de-escalation or further improvement in conditions, such as a return to negotiations. Therefore, we anticipate a collectively positive performance for the sample markets if this occurs, and the opposite if de-escalation fails.
