Qatar leads Gulf declines on LNG halt, Middle East tensions
- Qatar’s benchmark index shed 1.2%, pressured by a 2% drop in Qatar National Bank, the Gulf’s biggest lender by assets
Most Gulf stock markets fell in early Tuesday trading, led by Qatar, after it halted liquefied natural gas production, as rising Middle East tensions and precautionary regional energy shutdowns weighed on risk sentiment and stoked inflation fears.
Israel broadened its campaign with new strikes on Iran and the Hezbollah, while Tehran launched missiles and drones toward Israel, several Gulf states and a British air base in Cyprus, raising concerns of a prolonged conflict.
Qatar’s benchmark index shed 1.2%, pressured by a 2% drop in Qatar National Bank, the Gulf’s biggest lender by assets.
The Gulf nationcondemned Iranian attacks on its territory and said it reserves complete right to retaliate in a letter to the UN Secretary General and the president of the Security Council on Monday.
In Muscat, the index retreated more than 1% in broad declines, while the Kuwaiti index eased 0.1%.
Bucking the trend, Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index rose 0.5%, lifted by a 1.9% climb in oil behemoth Saudi Aramco , while petrochemical maker Saudi Basic Industries Corp , of which Aramco owns 70%, added 2.8%.
Oil prices rose for a third straight day on Tuesday as escalating US-Israeli conflict with Iran and threats to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz heightened fears of supply disruptions from the key Middle East producing region.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards commander said on Monday that the Strait of Hormuz was closed and warned that Iran would set any ship attempting to pass on fire, Iranian media reported.
Among individual stocks, Saudi’s budget carrier flynas extended declines to a third straight session, losing 2.9%, as the escalating war disrupted air travel in the region.
Elsewhere, Bahrain’s index was little changed.
Meanwhile, the UAE’s Securities and Commodities Authority said the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and the Dubai Financial Market would remain closed on March 2 and March 3, citing its supervisory and regulatory mandate over the country’s capital markets.
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