The majority of Gulf stock markets declined as worries about a larger Middle East conflict were stoked by fighting between Israel and the Palestinian organisation Hamas.
Gulf markets fall as Israel-Palestinian conflict: Two days after Hamas gunmen stormed in from Gaza on a deadly spree, Israel said its troops supported by helicopters had also killed a number of armed infiltrators entering the country from Lebanon, adding to worries that fighting could spread.
The benchmark index for Dubai fell 2.6%, the most since June of last year. Losses across all industries contributed to the index’s decline, with real estate developers Emaar Properties and Emaar Development experiencing declines of 4.4% and 5%, respectively.
Emirates NBD, the biggest lender in the UAE, down 1.9%, and Dubai Islamic Bank fell 3.3%.
The benchmark index in Abu Dhabi declined for a fourth day in a row and finished 1.3% lower, the lowest level since May, as nearly all of the index’s equities were in the red.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company for Distribution and ADNOC Logistics, two subsidiaries of the state-owned oil giant ADNOC, saw losses of 3.8% and 1.9%, respectively.
First Abu Dhabi Bank, the largest lender in the UAE, down 1.2%, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank fell 2%, and renowned developer Aldar Properties fell 2.9%.
All equities were down as the Qatari index dropped for a fourth straight session, closing 1.7% lower.
The biggest lender in the area, Qatar National Bank, fell 2.6%, and Qatar Islamic Bank fell 1.7%.
“Stock Market Update: Saudi Benchmark Index Recovers After Recent Drop, While Egypt’s Index Shows Gains”
The benchmark index for Saudi Arabia pared some of its session losses, closing 0.2% lower after plunging 1.6% in the previous session, the biggest drop in ten months.
Saudi National Bank, the largest lender in the nation, fell 2.2%, and Saudi Basic Industries down 1.8%.
However, Al Rajhi Bank, the largest Islamic bank in the world by assets, gained 1.2%, and Etihad Atheeb Telecommunication increased by 1.5%.
Outside of the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index gained 0.3% after recovering some of its earlier session losses.
Gains in the financial and communications sectors, including Commercial International Bank’s 1.7% increase and Telecom Egypt’s 2.2% increase, contributed to the index’s improvement.