DUBAI: Most Gulf bourses closed lower on Sunday after a report Iran was keeping the Strait of Hormuz closed left investors doubting progress was being achieved towards peace in the region.
US and Iranian negotiators began peace talks in Switzerland on Sunday. At the same time, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported, citing a source close to the negotiating team, that the Strait of Hormuz would stay closed unless the Lebanon ceasefire held and waivers for Iranian oil sales were granted.
US officials challenged the Iranian claims over the closure. Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index dropped 0.4 percent, with Saudi Arabian Mining Company losing 2 percent and the country’s biggest lender by assets Saudi National Bank down 0.6 percent.
In Qatar, the index lost 0.3 percent, hit by a 0.8 percent slide in the Gulf’s biggest lender Qatar National Bank.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index added 0.1 percent.
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