Most Gulf bourses rebound on Iran diplomacy hopes; Egypt falls ahead of Saudi defence vote

Gulf stock markets saw an overall uptick on Monday, driven by optimism surrounding talks between Iranian leaders and officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan. These discussions, slated to occur in Tehran on Monday, aimed to ease tensions between the US and Iran, marking the first high-level contact among the four nations since Saudi Arabia became a focal point in the broader Iran conflict.

The Saudi benchmark index experienced its largest one-day gain in over 13 months, soaring 3.4%. Notable gains included Ma’aden, a key index heavyweight, which surged 7.3%, and Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil giant, which jumped 1.7%. Saudi Aramco also announced plans to start storing crude oil in Singapore from the second half of 2027 to bolster the resilience of its supply chain in the region.

Qatar saw a strong performance, with its benchmark index rising 2.8%, marking the best day in over five months. All constituent companies within the index closed in positive territory. Qatar National Bank led the gains in Qatar, surging 3.9%, marking the largest daily increase in over five months, while Qatar Islamic Bank jumped 2.4%.

Dubai's benchmark index rebounded to close 0.3% higher, following a 1.4% decline in the previous session. Industrial shares, such as toll operator Salik, contributed to the index's recovery, with Salik rising 2.8%. The Abu Dhabi index added 0.6% after a 1.2% drop in the preceding session. Aldar Properties rose 1.5% ahead of its third-quarter earnings announcement, while Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank gained 1.6%.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index bucked the regional trend by dropping 1.7% ahead of a parliamentary vote expected to authorize the armed forces to provide defensive support to Saudi Arabia against Yemen's Houthis, should the request be made. The losses were widespread, with Commercial International Bank Egypt and Telecom Egypt suffering declines of 1.6% and 5.7%, respectively.

In contrast, Saudi Arabia experienced a significant gain of 3.4%, closing at 9,762 points. Abu Dhabi index closed at 9,641 points, Dubai rose by 0.3% to 5,752 points, Qatar climbed 2.8% to 8,852 points, while Egypt itself fell 1.7% to 48,417 points. Bahrain declined by 0.2% to 1,846 points, Oman increased by 1.1% to 7,358 points, and Kuwait advanced by 2% to 8,940 points.