Major Gulf markets rebound after Iran and Israel halt attacks

Major Gulf markets rebounded early on Tuesday after Iran and Israel said they had halted attacks, though Tehran warned the truce would end if Israel kept striking Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The most direct clash between the two countries since April threatened to derail Washington’s efforts to broker an end to their more than three-month-long war with Tehran.

In the previous session, most Gulf bourses retreated as renewed Israeli strikes on Iran and attacks in Lebanon undermined hopes for a near-term end to the wider war.

Trump told Axios in an interview published Monday that he had warned Netanyahu he could be left to fight alone if he resumed the war with Iran.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index gained 1%, with the country’s biggest lender by assets, Saudi National Bank , climbing 3.1%. However, oil behemoth Saudi Aramco eased 0.8%.

Brent crude futures were down $1.14, or 1.2%, at $93.11 a barrel at 0630 GMT.

Washington is urging Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which carried about a fifth of global oil supplies before U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran in late February.

Dubai’s main share index advanced 1.1%, led by a 1.3% rise in top lender Emirates NBD and a 0.9% increase in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties.

In Abu Dhabi, the index was up 0.8%.

The Qatari index - which declined more than 2% on Monday - rebounded 2%, buoyed by a 2% gain in the Gulf’s biggest lender Qatar National Bank.