Most Mideast Stocks Drop With Gulf Tension Weighing: Inside EM
Most Mideast Stocks Drop With Gulf Tension Weighing: Inside EM
(Bloomberg) -- Stock gauges in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar fell as investors weighed rising geopolitical tension in the region.
The declines extended a selloff among all Gulf equity markets on Thursday after two oil tankers were damaged in the Gulf of Oman, for which the U.S. and Saudi governments blamed Iran. Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman said in an interview with the Asharq Al Awsat newspaper that the kingdom does not seek war in the region, “but will not hesitate in dealing with any threats towards our people, sovereignty, unity and vital interests.”
Some traders are hoping the recent stock losses will tempt bargain-hunters, according to Issam Kassabieh, senior financial analyst at Mena Corp in Dubai, though “the political tensions are present and quite heightened,” he said.
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MIDDLE EASTERN MARKETS
- The Tadawul All Share Index falls 0.6%, finishing below its 50-day moving average
- Notable declines: Al Rajhi Bank -1.4%; Samba Financial Group -4.7%; NCB -1.8%
- The Invesco MSCI Saudi Arabia UCITS ETF, the largest exchange-traded fund focused on Saudi shares, registered an outflow of $215m on June 12, before the incident with the tankers
- ETF has still had net inflows of about $1.2b this year
- MORE: Foreigners Bolster Saudi Stocks as Tension in the Region Mounts
- In Dubai, the DFM General Index retreats 0.7%, the most among peers in the Gulf, pressured the most by Emaar Properties
- The U.A.E.’s sovereign wealth fund boosted its stake in the Dubai-based telecom operator DU, snapping a stake valued at about $630m. The shares fell 0.4% to AED5
- The Dubai Economy Tracker Index rose to 58.5 in May versus 57.9 in April
- QuickTake: Why the Strait of Hormuz Is World’s Oil Flashpoint
To contact the reporter on this story: Filipe Pacheco in Dubai at fpacheco4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Celeste Perri at cperri@bloomberg.net, Paul Wallace, Abbas Al Lawati
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