GULF equities ended subdued yesterday after marathon talks in Islamabad failed to deliver a US-Iran breakthrough, clouding hopes for a lasting settlement and putting the fragile two-week ceasefire under renewed strain.
The 21-hour negotiations ended in mutual recriminations. The conflict, which began more than six weeks ago, has unsettled the global economy and sent oil prices sharply higher.
US Vice President JD Vance said American officials were leaving Pakistan without a deal, while Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar stressed the need to preserve the ceasefire.
In Qatar, the index eased 0.1 per cent, hit by a 1.5 per cent slide in petrochemical maker Industries Qatar and a 2pc decrease in Qatar Gas Transport.
The benchmark index in Saudi Arabia – which has been shielded from much of the regional disruption by its ability to reroute oil exports – dropped 0.3pc, with ACWA Power losing 1.9pc.
The kingdom said yesterday it had restored the East-West pipeline to its full pumping capacity of about seven million barrels per day, just days after assessing damage to its energy infrastructure from attacks during the Iran conflict.
A Reuters analysis showed that Saudi Arabia benefited from firmer oil prices, with estimated March oil revenue rising year on year.
Even as diplomacy faltered, early signs of normalisation appeared in energy shipping, with three fully laden supertankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday – the first such transit since the ceasefire.
Tehran’s blockade of the Strait – a conduit for roughly 20pc of global oil and LNG trade – has disrupted supplies and driven oil prices sharply higher.
Boursa Kuwait edged 0.1pc higher.
Egypt’s market will be closed for two days starting yesterday to observe the Easter holiday.
Meanwhile, the Bahrain All Share Index closed at 1,891.25 points yesterday marking a decrease of 2.54 points below the previous closing.
This decrease was due to the drop in the communications services sector, the consumer discretionary sector, the financial sector, the industrial sector and the material sector.
Bahrain Islamic Index closed at 923.50 points, marking a decrease of 2.40 points below the previous closing.
Results indicated that 124 equity transactions took place with a volume of 1,232,143 worth BD422,847.
Investors traded mainly in the financial sector, representing 75.73pc of the total value of securities traded.
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