Gulf stock markets fall as geopolitical tensions rise

Stock market falls: Major Gulf stock markets fell in early trading on Monday, pressured by rising geopolitical tensions in the region. This comes after Saudi Arabia's benchmark index, which snapped a seven-day winning streak recently, feels renewed pressure with military actions involving Israel.

On Sunday, Israel bombed Houthi targets in Yemen, raising its confrontation with Iran's allies. The escalation comes two days after the killing of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, which further increased concerns over stability in Lebanon.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index, or TASI, lost 0.1 per cent, with the country's largest lender, the Saudi National Bank, dropping 0.7 per cent. The market fell Wednesday as new government data showed that employment among Saudi citizens decreased to 7.1 per cent during the second quarter, compared to 7.6 per cent three months prior and 8.5 per cent a year earlier.

The DFMGI fell 0.3 per cent in Dubai, led lower by a 0.6 per cent drop in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties and a 0.5 per cent decline in top lender Emirates NBD. The FTFADGI in Abu Dhabi decreased 0.4 per cent.

Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib reacted sharply to a US Presidential remark yesterday but is hopeful that the US will intervene in the growing crisis between Israel and Lebanon.

Qatari Benchmark The Qatari benchmark index (QSI) closed the week unchanged after a 0.3 per cent move over the fortnight, as the oil price moved higher with geopolitics concerns in the Middle East killing supply worries related to the Saudi kingdom's potential supplies increase.