Major Gulf bourses subdued on US tariff uncertainty

Major Gulf stock markets were subdued in early trade on Tuesday with investors exercising caution over U.S. trade policies after President Donald Trump announced steep import levies on several trading partners and pushed the tariff deadline to August 1.

Although Trump spared Gulf economies, he had earlier announced plans to impose an additional 10% tariff on countries aligning with the "anti-American policies" of the BRICS bloc, which includes the UAE. Saudi Arabia attended a BRICS meeting in April, but isn't a member.

Oil prices - a catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets - retreated from a 2% rise in the previous session on tariff concerns and the OPEC+ announcing a higher-than-expected output hike for August.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index TASI eased 0.1%, hit by a 0.8% fall in ACWA Power Company 2082 and a 1.1% drop in Umm Al Qura for Development and Construction Co 4325.

Dubai's main share index DFMGI fell 0.6% - a day after it hit its highest in over 17 years - with blue-chip developer Emaar Properties EMAAR declining 1.1% and a sharia-compliant lender Dubai Islamic Bank DIB losing 1.2%.

In Abu Dhabi, the index FADGI was flat.

The Qatari benchmark GNRI added 0.4%, with Qatar Islamic Bank QIBK climbing 1% and petrochemical maker Industries Qatar IQCD gaining 1%.

Meanwhile, Egypt's stock exchange said it had suspended trading on Tuesday, citing ongoing disruptions affecting brokerage firms' ability to communicate efficiently across the trading system, a day after a fire broke out in a telecoms data centre in Cairo.