Major Gulf markets fall after Israeli attack on Qatar
Major stock markets in the Gulf had a rocky start on Wednesday after an Israeli airstrike on Qatar targeted leaders from Palestinian group Hamas on Tuesday. Hamas said five of its members had been killed in the attack, including the son of Hamas's exiled Gaza chief and top negotiator Khalil al-Hayya. It said Israel had failed in what it called an attempt to assassinate the group's ceasefire negotiation team.
The attack drew condemnation from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and the European Union, and risks derailing Gaza ceasefire talks and U.S. President Donald Trump's push to achieve a negotiated end to the nearly two-year-old conflict.
Trump said he was "very unhappy about every aspect" of the Israeli strike and would be giving a full statement on the issue on Wednesday.
In Qatar - which hosts Al Udeid Air Base, the largest U.S. military facility in the Middle East - the index declined 0.4%, with petrochemical maker Industries Qatar losing 0.7%.
Trump assured the emir of Qatar in a phone call after the attack that "such a thing will not happen again on their soil."
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index fell 0.4%, hit by a 0.2% fall in Al Rajhi Bank and a 0.3% decrease in oil behemoth Saudi Aramco.
Dar Al Majed Real Estate Co shares opened at 13.97 riyals each in debut trade slightly lower than the initial public offering price of 14 riyals per share. Meanwhile, crude prices rose after Israel's Qatar attack and Trump asked Europe to impose tariffs on buyers of Russian oil, though a weak market outlook capped further gains.
Dubai's main share index eased 0.2%, hit by a 0.7% fall in sharia-compliant lender Dubai Islamic Bank and a 0.6% decrease in top lender Emirates NBD.