Gulf Markets show downturn amid concerns following Iran's attack on Israel

Gulf markets exhibited a slight downturn Sunday, reflecting early investor reactions to Iran’s unprecedented assault on Israeli territory.

In early trading, Saudi Arabia’s benchmark stock index experienced a 1.8% decline, while the primary Qatari index was down 1.6%, with Gulf lender QNB leading the losses.

Tel Aviv's broad and blue-chip indexes showed minimal changes, remaining flat to marginally lower in early trade.

Iran’s retaliatory drone and missile attack, in response to a suspected Israeli air strike, has heightened concerns about broader regional conflict.

Although Israel reported only modest damage, investors are closely monitoring the unfolding situation.

"If it stays tit-for-tat instead of escalating, then we will likely see a sigh of relief across equities even if oil prices, gold, the dollar, and bonds all embed a risk premium to reflect the conflict," commented Brian Jacobson, chief economist at Annex Wealth in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Brent crude futures rose by 71 cents to $90.45 a barrel on Friday, with prices reaching a six-month high last week on fears of potential Iranian aggression against Israel.

Simultaneously, gold surged above $2,400 an ounce to a record high on Friday, driven by persistent safe-haven demand.

Global share index hits new highs since Oct. 7

Since Israel invaded Gaza on Oct. 7, the MSCI’s global share index has reached new highs.

Saudi Arabia’s main index had surged by about 20% from Oct. 8 until its last close ahead of the Eid al-Fitr holidays on April 4.

Meanwhile, Qatar’s benchmark index experienced a nearly 0.8% decline between Oct. 8 and its last close on April 8.

Elsewhere in the region on Sunday, Kuwait’s benchmark index witnessed a 0.9% decline, Oman’s index lost 0.2%, while Bahrain’s main index bucked the downward trend with a 0.9% gain.

Source: Newsroom