By Ateeq Shariff
Stock markets in the Middle East ended lower on Thursday with uncertainty looming after the U.S. decided to relocate personnel from the region ahead of nuclear talks with Iran.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday U.S. personnel were being moved out of the Middle East because "it could be a dangerous place", adding that the United States would not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index TADAWUL:TASI declined 1.5%, dragged down by a 1.2% fall in Al Rajhi Bank TADAWUL:1120 and a 3.3% decrease in Saudi Arabian Mining Company TADAWUL:1211.
The Saudi bourse retreated, erasing all recent recovery gains and pushing the index back towards early June levels. All sectors posted negative performances, indicating a pervasive risk-off sentiment during today's session, said Milad Azar, market analyst at XTB MENA.
"While solid fundamentals offer a hopeful outlook, the market's reaction was more heavily influenced by geopolitical tensions," Azar said. "However, this impact may be temporary, and the market could reverse course."
Dubai's main share index (.DFGMGI) slid 2.3%, its biggest intraday fall in two months, with blue-chip developer Emaar Properties DFM:EMAAR dropping 3.4%.
In Abu Dhabi, the index ADX:FADGI finished 1.1% higher.
The decision by the U.S. to evacuate personnel comes at a volatile moment in the region. Trump's efforts to reach a nuclear deal with Iran appear to be deadlocked and U.S. intelligence indicates that Israel has been making preparations for a strike against Iran's nuclear facilities.
Iranian Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said on Wednesday that if Iran was subjected to strikes it would retaliate by hitting U.S. bases in the region.
The Qatari index QSE:GNRI lost 0.8%, as almost all its constituents were in negative territory including petrochemical maker Industries Qatar QSE:IQCD, which was down 1.4%.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index EGX:EGX30 was down 1.3%.
SAUDI ARABIA
TADAWUL:TASI fell 1.5% to 10,841
Abu Dhabi
DFM:DFMGI lost 2.3% to 5,467
Dubai
ADX:FADGI down 1.1% to 9,694
QATAR
QSE:GNRI dropped 0.8% to 10,627
EGYPT
EGX:EGX30 down 1.3% to 32,512
BAHRAIN
BAHRAIN:BHBX eased 0.2% to 1,918
OMAN
(.MSX30) down 1.1% to 4,543
KUWAIT
(.BKP) slid 1.4% to 8,918