Gulf Markets Slide Amid Escalating Tensions in the Region
Most Gulf stock markets closed lower on Sunday following a weekend of escalating tensions in the region. A day after Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis attacked Saudi oil installations at two Red Sea ports, Saudi-backed forces bombed the Houthi-controlled capital Sana'a.
The war in the Gulf has extended to a second front, with the US ambassador to the United Nations telling Fox News that President Donald Trump was giving Iran talks 'some space'.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index lost 0.3 percent, dragged down by a 4 percent slide in Banque Saudi Fransi due to the lender trading ex-dividend.
Among other losers, oil major Saudi Aramco retreated 0.9 percent.