Gulf stocks fall, Kuwait halts trading as Iran targets GCC countries after US-Israeli strikes

Heightened geopolitical tensions rattled investors across the Gulf on Sunday, sending most stocks lower and forcing Boursa Kuwait to suspend trading until further notice, Reuters reported.

In a rare move, the exchange said it was halting all trading activities due to the "exceptional circumstances" the country is facing.

The strong market reaction followed coordinated US and Israeli strikes on Iran, which triggered retaliatory attacks on US targets in Gulf cities, and raised fears of prolonged instability across the region.

Broader stock market reaction

Trading in Middle East markets is often seen as an early indicator of how investors are pricing the potential impact of geopolitical shocks on assets ranging from oil to safe-haven currencies and gold.

In Saudi Arabia, home to the region's biggest stock market, the benchmark index pared its losses to trade 2% lower after tumbling as much as 4.6% earlier in the session.

Among the notable decliners were Al Rajhi Bank, down 2.8%, Saudi National Bank, which fell 4.3% and budget airline flynas, sliding 5.8%.

In contrast, oil giant Saudi Aramco rose 2.6% on expectations of rising oil prices. The kingdom on Saturday said Iran had targeted Riyadh and the country's eastern region.

Elsewhere, the Muscat stock index trimmed its losses to 1.8% after sliding more than 3% earlier in a broad-based selloff. Heavyweight OQ Base Industries declined 1.3%, according to the news agency report.

Bahrain's benchmark index was down 0.9%, while trading in Qatar was closed for a bank holiday. Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index slumped 5.5% in early trade with all of its constituents in negative territory.

Iran's Supreme Leader killed

According to Reuters, some witnesses reported blasts in Dubai and over Doha for a second day on Sunday. Meanwhile, reports from AFP and Al Jazeera confirmed fresh blasts across the Gulf regions, including in Doha, Qatar, and Manama, Bahrain.

This is a continuation of Iran's retaliation against US-Israeli strikes that killed Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and forced major regional airports, including Dubai, to shut operations until further notice, marking one of the biggest disruptions to global aviation in years.

Key locations across the UAE that were targeted by Iranian missile strikes and drones on Saturday included Jebel Ali Port, Burj Al Arab, Dubai's famed Palm Jumeirah hotel and Dubai International Airport.

The escalating tensions in West Asia have intensified concerns that the US-Israel military action against Iran could spiral into a broader regional conflict, as per several media reports.

(with inputs from agencies)