Gaza ceasefire announcement on early Thursday did not have a significant bearing on stock markets across the Gulf.
Qatar’s stock market shares were not significantly impacted by the announcement of the Gaza ceasefire in the early hours of Thursday, mirroring other Gulf equities.
Qatar’s index had closed at 10,897.38 points on October 8, following a 14.15 point dip compared to the previous day. On Thursday, however, it returned to an upward trajectory as 28 entities gained, according to QSE’s live index.
Markets across the Gulf also did not show overtly significant changes following the development.
Gainers included Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index, which rose by 0.19% compared to the previous closing, and Oman’s Muscat Stock Exchange with 1.17% rise at the time of writing.
However, Kuwait’s premier market, consisting of relatively larger and more liquid listed companies, fell by 0.45%, according to Boursa Kuwait‘s figure.
While the Bahraini index and the UAE’s Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and Dubai Financial Market showed a downward trend, they did not bear any out-of-the-ordinary reaction.
Why do geopolitical events affect Gulf stocks?
Regional stock markets change because of various factors, but those across the Gulf often rely heavily on oil and gas revenues and are subject to fluctuations whenever prices change or a significant political or economic event poses risks to the extraction and supply chain of those commodities.
The Qatar News Agency had reported that oil prices had marginally slipped on Thursday’s trade, following Donald Trump’s announcement.
Brent crude futures were down 51 cents per barrel, whereas the U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 55 cents. That did not have a significant bearing on the market, however.
Gulf equities had slid in June following Israel’s attack on Iran — which prompted a series of retaliatory strikes from Tehran and the U.S. bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities — raising concerns about regional stability.
However, the markets continued gaining following the ceasefire announcement that came hours after Iran attacked the U.S. military base in Doha.
