Head of the World Trade Organization: The wars in the Middle East and Ukraine will leave long-term effects

Gulf stock markets fell in early trading on Thursday, led by the Qatar Stock Exchange, whose index fell to its lowest level in more than 6 years, while the main indices in Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Abu Dhabi declined, amid a decline in oil prices.

The general index of the Saudi market decreased by 0.6 percent, affected by the decline in Saudi Aramco shares by the same percentage, putting the index on track to record losses for the sixth week in a row. In Qatar, the index fell by 1.2 percent to its lowest levels in more than six years, while the Dubai Financial Market index fell by 0.7 percent, affected by the decline of “SALIC” shares by 1.7 percent. The Abu Dhabi Securities Market index also fell by 0.4 percent. The performance of the Gulf markets coincided with the decline in oil prices, as Brent crude futures fell by $2.28, or 2.2 percent, to $103.78 per barrel by 07:29 GMT.

In a related context, a container ship and a bulk cargo tanker sank near the Strait of Hormuz within 24 hours, after they were targeted by projectiles in two separate incidents, according to maritime officials, who told Reuters.

The International Monetary Fund warned on Thursday that the continuation of the war in the Middle East for a long period, along with additional disruptions to energy production, shipping routes or vital infrastructure, poses the greatest threat to the economies in the Middle East and Central Asia.

Nasdaq futures fell by more than 1 percent on Thursday, as selling in stocks related to artificial intelligence widened, amid fears that high interest rates will make it more difficult for companies to finance their investments in this sector.

On Wednesday, the Nasdaq and Standard & Poor's 500 indexes recorded their largest daily decline since July, after inflation data, which came higher than expectations, reinforced investors' bets on further raising interest rates by the Federal Reserve. Which led to a sharp decline in technology stocks that had achieved strong performance, according to Reuters.

In an additional factor that increased pressure on investor sentiment, TSMC, the largest advanced chip manufacturer in the world, expressed caution about its expectations for the year 2027, in light of the uncertainty surrounding the overall economy, despite announcing record quarterly profits for the sixth time in a row.

CoreWave, a data center operator that relies heavily on debt financing, has been at the forefront of recent turmoil in the technology sector. Its stock fell by 4.5 percent in pre-market trading, after falling by 15 percent on Wednesday.

The shares of cloud computing giant Oracle also fell by 2 percent, after falling by about 9 percent in the previous session. The two companies' bonds were also subjected to selling pressure, pushing their yields to record high levels on Wednesday.

CoreWave and Oracle, along with other companies that manufacture chips, operate large data centers, and provide cloud computing services, were behind a wave of selling that the markets witnessed on Wednesday, wiping out about $80 billion in market value.

The losses extended to chip manufacturing companies; “Nvidia” shares fell by 1.3 percent, while “Micron Technology” and “Advanced Micro Devices” shares fell by 4 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively.

Mohit Kumar, an economist at Jefferies, said that any slowdown in building artificial intelligence infrastructure would lead to a sharp slowdown in US economic growth expectations.

He added: “We expect that the financial results announcement season will confirm that profits and demand remain strong,” noting at the same time that Jefferies intends to reap some profits, that is, reduce its exposure to the market, ahead of the midterm elections.

At 4:04 a.m. EDT, mini-futures for the Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 27.5 points, or 0.35 percent. Mini futures contracts for the Nasdaq 100 index also decreased by 380.25 points, or 1.26 percent, while mini futures contracts for the Dow Jones index rose by 202 points, or 0.39 percent.

Investors are closely awaiting producer price data, scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. EST, looking for indications of inflationary pressures in the manufacturing sector. September retail sales data, initial jobless claims, and the results of a number of business surveys are also scheduled for release later in the day.

According to the CME Group's Fed Watch tool, traders estimate the probability of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates later this month at about 27 percent, up from 20 percent a week ago. In contrast, the probability of raising interest rates by 25 basis points in December was 67 percent.

Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan confirmed that the Kingdom’s investments in alternative paths contributed to ensuring the continuation of energy supplies and the flow of trade in light of the state of uncertainty, stressing that enhancing economic flexibility requires diversifying sources of economic power, protecting the foundations of growth, and providing the ability to deal with recurring and prolonged disturbances.

Al-Jadaan said, during his participation in the third meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors of the G20 under the US presidency, which was held Thursday in the Thai capital, Bangkok, that the global economy has shown the ability to adapt to recurring disturbances, explaining that flexibility represents the basis of this adaptation, but enhancing it requires understanding its cost, ways to develop it, and how to finance it.

He stressed that the success of economic policies in confronting shocks is not limited to reducing the effects of current challenges, but is also linked to maintaining the ability to support future ambitions and the continuity of the long-term economic transformation path, while maintaining sufficient margins to deal with any developments that may arise later.

The Minister of Finance stressed the need for financial policies to protect the foundations of growth, pointing to the importance of effective international cooperation in achieving economic stability. He explained that the availability of reliable energy at reasonable prices, and the continued flow of basic commodities, help contain price pressures and reduce the burdens on national budgets, thus enhancing the ability of countries to deal with uncertainty.

In this context, Al-Jadaan stressed that the Kingdom has contributed, thanks to its investments in alternative paths, to ensuring the continuation of energy supplies and the flow of trade amid the turmoil. This message highlights the importance of infrastructure and transportation and supply routes in enhancing the ability of economies to confront shocks and limit their repercussions on markets and flows of basic commodities.

Managing shocks and enhancing resilience

Speaking about ways to enhance economic flexibility, Al-Jadaan explained that dealing with prolonged shocks depends not only on the size of the margins available to countries, but also on how they are managed over time, with the need to maintain sufficient capacity to respond to future developments.

He pointed out that enhancing economic resilience requires reducing the level of exposure to risks through diversifying the economy, consolidating energy and food security, in addition to developing supply chains and infrastructure that have greater flexibility. These priorities gain importance in light of recurring disruptions affecting trade flows and the availability and cost of obtaining basic goods.

Al-Jadaan also addressed readiness for artificial intelligence, explaining that it has gone beyond being a technical issue to become part of a broader agenda aimed at achieving sustainable growth and enhancing economic resilience. This reflects the broad scope of policies required to build economies capable of adapting to changes, while maintaining opportunities for long-term growth and transformation.

The role of international financial institutions

The Minister of Finance stressed the importance of the role played by multilateral financial institutions in helping the economies most vulnerable to risks face financing pressures, through financial and technical support programs and providing advice, in a way that supports their ability to deal with shocks and maintain economic stability.

Al-Jadaan concluded his participation in the third meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors of the G20, on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group for the year 2026 in Thailand.

Al-Jadaan also met with a number of officials and heads of international financial institutions and credit rating agencies. The meetings dealt with developments in the global economy and policies supporting its stability, in addition to reviewing developments in the Saudi economy and its reforms, as part of the Kingdom’s efforts to enhance its presence in the international economic and financial dialogue.