Gulf stocks retreat as Hormuz tanker attacks hit wartime high
Attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz have reached their highest levels of the Iran war, sending Gulf stock markets lower in early Thursday trade and cutting vessel traffic through the strait to its lowest in more than two months.
Gulf stock markets fell in early trade on Thursday as attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz reached their highest levels of the war, cutting traffic through the vital waterway and deepening fears over supply (Reuters).
The latest strike came on Wednesday, when a tanker was hit by multiple projectiles 51 nautical miles north of Qatar’s Madinat ash Shamal, causing casualties, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark TASI index dropped 0.9 per cent, with the kingdom’s biggest lender, Saudi National Bank, declining 2.6 per cent. Abu Dhabi’s FTFADGI index lost 0.9 per cent and Dubai’s DFMGI shed 0.9 per cent. The Qatari index fell 0.6 per cent, hit by a 0.8 per cent drop in Sharia-compliant lender Qatar Islamic Bank.
Shipping took the hit quickly. The number of vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz fell to its lowest in more than two months, shipping data showed, while Brent crude rose 1.3 per cent to $101.53 a barrel on persistent supply worries (Reuters).
The violence also spread beyond the sea. Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authorities said on Wednesday that three people had been killed in attacks on the kingdom’s airports, as fighting intensified in Yemen between the Iran-aligned Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces. The Houthis said on Thursday they had fired a ballistic missile at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport; there was no immediate Saudi confirmation of the latest claim.
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