Mideast Stocks: Most Gulf Markets Retreat As Israel, Iran Strikes Continue

Most stock markets in the Gulf closed lower on Thursday on the seventh day of the Israel-Iran conflict and as U.S. President Donald Trump kept the world guessing about whether the U.S. would join Israel in airstrikes.

Dubai's main share index lost 0.7%, hit by a 2.3% slide in sharia-compliant lender Dubai Islamic Bank and a 1.2% decrease in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties . In Saudi Arabia, the benchmark index reversed early losses to edge 0.2% higher, helped by a 4.9% jump in Umm Al Qura Development and Construction. However, the index posted a weekly loss of 2.1%

. In Abu Dhabi, the index concluded 0.8% down. Overnight, the U.S. Federal Reserve held rates steady as expected but retained projections for two quarter-point rate cuts this year. The Fed's decisions impact monetary policy in the Gulf, where most currencies, including the riyals, are pegged to the U.S. dollar.

The Qatari index fell 0.8%, with Qatar Islamic Bank losing 1.3%. Brent crude futures rose $1.06, or 1.4%, to $77.76 a barrel by 1151 GMT. Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index dropped 1.9%, as most of its constituents were in negative territory including Talaat Moustafa Group Holding, which was down 5.8%.

SAUDI ARABIA rose 0.2% to 10,611

ABU DHABI lost 0.8% to 9,423

DUBAI down 0.7% to 5,270

QATAR dropped 0.8% to 10,261

EGYPT slid 1.9% to 30,248

BAHRAIN declined 0.8% to 1,875

OMAN eased 0.3% to 4,506

KUWAIT gained 0.9% to 8,616