Markets across the Middle East ended mostly higher on Sunday after the United States entered the war between Israel and Iran and struck three key Iranian nuclear sites, Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan.
Stocks in Tel Aviv reached an all-time high on Sunday on bets that Washington’s entrance into the conflict with Tehran would help it to come to an end, despite the Iranian Foreign Minister’s insistence that the country could not return to diplomacy “while under attack.”
The broader TA-125 index was trading 1.77% higher on Sunday, while the TA-35, Tel Aviv’s blue-chip index, was up 1.5%. Equities climbed in Israel last week after the country hit targets in Iran.
In the Gulf, Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul opened Sunday trading nearly half a percent higher before erasing earlier gains and closing down 0.3%. Qatar gained 0.2% and Bahrain’s index added 0.3%. Bahrain, home to the U.S. Central Command, issued a “work from home mandate” on Sunday, urging citizens to “only use main roads when necessary to maintain public safety.”
Egypt’s benchmark EGX30 was the major gainer in the region, closing 2.7% higher on Sunday.
