18/08/2026 02:59 AST
Qatar-listed companies posted combined net profit of 23.63 billion Qatari riyals ($6.49 billion) in the first half of 2026, down 11.4 percent from a year earlier, as earnings came under pressure across parts of the market.
According to data from the Qatar Stock Exchange, the latest bourse in the region to publish its half-yearly results, the figures cover companies listed on the QSE main market and exclude Al-Faleh Educational Holding, whose fiscal year ends Aug. 31.
The results came as the US-Iran conflict disrupted trade and shipping in the Gulf, raising costs and creating uncertainty for businesses. The tensions also affected sectors such as insurance, transport and tourism, while adding to concerns over economic growth and corporate earnings.
Qatar Insurance Co., one of the country's largest listed insurers, reported a net profit of 365 million riyals in the first half, while its insurance service result fell to 202 million riyals amid claims and reserving related to the regional conflict.
Insurance revenue rose 15 percent to 4.8 billion riyals, while investment income increased 2.8 percent to 477 million riyals.
The Qatar Stock Exchange's QE Index also posted a mixed performance in the first half, reflecting broader volatility across Gulf equity markets amid heightened regional geopolitical uncertainty.
Mixed Gulf performance
Oman's Muscat Stock Exchange was the strongest-performing Gulf equity market in the first half of the year, with its main index rising 28 percent to close at 7,507 points.
Total trading value surged to 6.9 billion Omani rials ($17.9 billion), from 917.2 million rials a year earlier, while market capitalization rose to 36.72 billion rials from 32.11 billion rials at the end of 2025.
Saudi Arabia's Tadawul All Share Index, or TASI, closed the first half of 2026 at 10,799.92 points, down 364.04 points, or 3.26 percent, from a year earlier. The index reached its highest closing level of 11,589.05 points on April 15.
Total market capitalization on Tadawul stood at SR9.44 trillion ($2.52 trillion) at the end of June, up 3.4 percent year on year, while the value of shares traded fell 10.39 percent to SR616.57 billion.
The All-Share Total Return Index on Boursa Kuwait gained 0.2 percent in the six months to the end of June, ranking it third among Gulf Cooperation Council markets during the period.
Boursa Kuwait itself reported a net profit of 13.74 million Kuwaiti dinars ($44.52 million) for the first half, with operating revenue reaching 23.39 million dinars and operating profit totaling 17.11 million dinars.
According to Bader Nasser Al-Kharafi, chairman of Boursa Kuwait, the results reflected the strength and resilience of the exchange's business model in navigating economic and regional developments.
"This performance rests on the diversification of revenue sources and on operational and financial discipline in cost management, which has contributed to enhancing operational efficiency and supporting the sustainability of performance," he said in a press release on Aug. 2.
ADX trading picks up
In the UAE, the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange ended the first six months of the year with a market capitalization of 2.8 trillion dirhams ($762 billion), while trading value reached 171 billion dirhams.
Trading volume rose 3.7 percent year on year to 50.3 billion shares, with institutional investors accounting for 78 percent of total trading value and international investors representing 48 percent.
The exchange also attracted more than 30,000 new investors during the first half, an increase of 7.1 percent from a year earlier.
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