Most Gulf stocks subdued amid escalating conflict

Most Gulf equities were subdued on Sunday as investors weighed escalating regional tensions following Iranian strikes on petrochemical facilities in the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain.

Geopolitical risks remained elevated after Washington announced the rescue of a second airman shot down over Iran, with US President Donald Trump hardening his rhetoric.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Sunday they had attacked petrochemical plants in the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain, warning that strikes on US economic interests would intensify if civilian targets in Iran were hit again.

In Qatar, the index (.QSI) dropped 0.7 per cent, with the country's biggest lender Qatar National ⁠Bank (QNBK.QA) losing 0.6%, while Doha Bank (DOBK.QA) plunged 6.9 per cent as the lender traded ex-dividend.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI), which has outperformed its regional peers as the kingdom worked around the Strait of Hormuz disruption, closed flat after choppy trading.

The kingdom's non-oil private sector shrank in March for the first time since August 2020 as conflict in the Middle East disrupted supply chains, a business survey showed on Sunday.

Brent climbed nearly 8.0 per cent on Thursday, the last trading day before the Easter holiday weekend, on fears of prolonged oil supply disruptions after Trump said the United States ⁠would continue attacks on Iran.

Meanwhile, OPEC+ has provisionally agreed to raise its May oil output quotas by 206,000 barrels per day, according to three sources familiar with the talks, though the increase is likely to be mostly symbolic as key members remain unable to lift production amid the US-Israeli war ⁠with Iran.

Boursa Kuwait (.BKP) lost 0.4 per cent and the Bahraini index (.BAX) fell 0.5 per cent.

Iranian drone attacks on Kuwait on Sunday caused fires and "severe material damage" at some operating units, Kuwait Petroleum Corp said.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index (.EGX30), ⁠advanced 1.9 per cent.

Egypt kept its key interest rates unchanged on Thursday, pausing the easing cycle that began a year ago amid rising inflation risks driven by regional instability linked to the ⁠US-Israeli war on Iran and higher energy costs.