GCC stock markets were mixed yesterday as investors weighed persistent uncertainty over Middle East geopolitical developments.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index still added 0.3 per cent, helped by a 5.4pc rise in Saudi Arabian Mining Co after reporting a steep increase in quarterly profit.
On the other hand, Maharah For Human Resources Co plunged 8.6pc following a sharp decline in second-quarter profit. Brent crude futures were up $1.40, or 1.7pc, at $84.95 a barrel by 1218 GMT.
While Iran and Oman appear close to an agreement on shipping conditions through the Strait of Hormuz, the absence of clarity is likely to keep market sentiment cautious, said Milad Azar, market analyst at XTB MENA.
In one measure of the damage the conflict has done to shipping since it began at the end of February, the UAE’s ADNOC said on Friday that 15 of its vessels have been attacked while transiting the Strait of Hormuz in this period.
Dubai’s main share index fell 0.7pc, hit by a 2.6pc slide in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties.
In Abu Dhabi, the index was down 0.1pc. The Qatari index concluded flat. Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index lost 0.5pc.
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