Qatar has recently announced that it will invest £10 billion in the UK economy as part of a strategic investment agreement signed in London between the two countries.

The Qatari index (.QSI) fell 0.6% after the Qatar Islamic Bank index fell 1.6% (QISB.QA).

This comes after the country’s stocks saw a much needed rise on May 22, following a strong 2% drop a week before its revival.

Qatar is not a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which offers it flexibility in selling oil on global markets. However, it is one of the world’s leading suppliers of clean energy, which is in high demand.

On the other hand, the index (.FTFADGI) in Abu Dhabi rose 1.5%, approaching a high set in April, with First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB.AD), the UAE’s largest lender, jumping 3.9%.

Borouge, an Abu Dhabi-based petrochemicals company, raised more than $2 billion on Tuesday after demand for its initial public offering (IPO) surpassed $83.4 billion.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index (.TASI) rose 0.5%, led by oil giant Saudi Aramco (2222.SE), which rose 1.1%.

Crude prices, a critical factor of the Gulf’s financial markets, climbed further after the EU agreed to cut Russian oil imports, raising fears of a tighter market already strained by rising demand ahead of the peak summer driving season in the United States and Europe.

What is the stock market?

Stocks, also known as equities or publicly traded corporations, are ownership interests in companies that choose to make shares of the entity available to the general public.

A share of stock indicates a company’s ownership interest. For example, if you own stocks in a company, you gain a piece of the company’s success.  In other words, rather than being owned by a single person or a small group of people, some businesses choose to become public. This means that anyone can buy shares of the company’s stock and become a part owner.

Supply and demand simply a dictate the stock prices on exchanges.

There will always be a maximum price someone is willing to pay for a stock and a minimum price someone is willing to sell shares . These are referred to as the bid and ask prices. Consider the stock market to be an auction. Bidding is always going on for shares that other investors are eager to sell.

When a stock is in high demand, investors will buy shares faster than sellers desire to sell them. This may cause the price to rise. On the other hand, if more people sell then acquire a stock, the market price would fall.