Khaberni - Gulf stock markets showed mixed performance at the close of trading today, Sunday, amid uncertainty surrounding the course of negotiations between the United States and Iran in Pakistan, which reflected on investor sentiment in the region.
In Saudi Arabia, the general index fell by 0.8%, affected by a 0.7% drop in Al Rajhi Bank's stock and a 1.2% drop in "Aramco" stock, according to "Reuters".
Conversely, the Qatar Stock Exchange index closed up by approximately 3.58 points, or 0.03%, reaching a level of 10718.23 points.
During the session, around 161.18 million shares were traded with a value of 413.99 million Qatari Riyal ($110.4 million), through 24,737 transactions.
Shares of 23 companies rose, 25 companies declined, and 6 companies remained stable, while the market capitalization reached about 638.92 billion Riyal ($170.4 billion), compared to 638.55 billion Riyal ($170.3 billion) in the previous session.
In Oman, the Muscat Stock Exchange "30" index closed at 8313.98 points, down 22.9 points or 0.27%.
The trading value was 49.73 million Omani Riyal ($129.3 million), down 40.5% compared to 83.51 million Riyal ($217.1 million) in the previous session.
In Kuwait, the stock exchange ended its trading on a rise, as the general index climbed by approximately 22.13 points or 0.25% to reach 8924.82 points, with trading value of 108.9 million Kuwaiti Dinar ($353 million), through the trading of 471.5 million shares across 28,442 transactions.
The Main Market Index also rose by 1.15% to 8298.24 points, with trading value of 41.2 million Dinar ($134.7 million), while the First Market Index increased by 0.08% to 9521.25 points with a value of 67.6 million Dinar ($221 million).
The "Main 50" index also rose by 1.61% to 9138.62 points, with transactions amounting to 36.5 million Dinar ($119.3 million).
In Bahrain, the general index closed at 1948.27 points, up 9.51 points, supported by the performance of the finance, basic materials, and real estate sectors.
The Bahrain Islamic Index rose to 966.90 points with an increase of 5.06 points. The trading value was 420.79 thousand Bahraini Dinar ($1.12 million), through trading about 1.38 million shares across 86 transactions, with the finance sector accounting for 73.1% of total trading value.
These movements come at a time when negotiations between Washington and Tehran are experiencing rapid developments, amid uncertainty on the horizon, as President Donald Trump announced the dispatch of a high-level delegation to Islamabad to resume talks, with implications of a wide military escalation should the talks fail to reach an agreement, while key issues remain unresolved, most notably Iran's nuclear program and the status of the Strait of Hormuz.
Conversely, Iran conditions lifting the American naval blockade before deciding to participate in a new round of negotiations, considering that the continuation of military pressures undermines the chances of reaching an understanding, which reflects a continuing gap between the parties despite Pakistani mediation.
These developments reflect a state of uncertainty, especially with ongoing tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and their direct impact on the global energy markets, making any progress in negotiations contingent on mutual concessions that are still far from reach.
