Major stock markets in the Gulf fell in early trade on Thursday amid investor jitters over potential US involvement in the escalating Israel-Iran conflict.
Israel struck a key Iranian nuclear site on Thursday and Iranian missiles hit an Israeli hospital while President Donald Trump kept the world guessing about whether the US would join air strikes seeking to destroy Tehran’s nuclear facilities.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index dropped 0.2%, dragged down by a 0.4% fall in Al Rajhi Bank and a 0.6% decrease in oil behemoth Saudi Aramco. The Saudi index is on course for its biggest weekly fall in over two months.
However, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal-backed airline Flynas advanced 3% to 79.60 riyals per share, a day after falling over 3% on its debut.
The airline, which sold a 30% stake to investors in the first IPO by a Gulf airline in almost 20 years, was priced at the top of its range at 80 riyals per share.
Dubai’s main share index declined 1.3%, dragged down by a 2.4% slide in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties and a 2% retreat in sharia-compliant lender Dubai Islamic Bank.
Most Gulf markets in red as Israel-Iran conflict escalates
Elsewhere, budget airliner Air Arabia was down 1.6%. In Abu Dhabi, the index eased 0.1%.
Overnight, the Federal Reserve held rates steady as expected but retained projections for two quarter-point rate cuts this year.
The Fed’s decisions impact monetary policy in the Gulf, where most currencies, including the riyals, are pegged to the US dollar.
The Qatari benchmark fell 0.8%, with Qatar Islamic Bank losing 1.6%.
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