Most Gulf bourses rebound on Iran diplomacy hopes; Egypt falls ahead of Saudi defence vote

Business Recorder reported that most Gulf equity markets ended Monday higher as planned talks involving Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan lifted hopes of reduced US-Iran tensions. Saudi Arabia’s benchmark rose 3.4%, its biggest daily advance in over 13 months, while Qatar’s index gained 2.8%, its strongest session in over five months.

Saudi stocks were led by Ma’aden, up 7.3%, and Saudi Aramco, which added 1.7%. Saudi and Singaporean energy ministers said Aramco will begin holding crude in Singapore in the second half of 2027 to strengthen supply-chain resilience. Dubai gained 0.3% and Abu Dhabi 0.6%, while Egypt fell 1.7% before a parliamentary vote on possible Saudi defence support against Yemen’s Houthis.