Tehran, Mar 2 (.) Iran’s strikes across the Gulf – following the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei by Israel and the decimation of Tehran’s command structure – have triggered the massive business disruption in the region, which have reportedly fallen to their worst since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The resultant fallout has sent massive shockwaves throughout financial markets in the region, as well as globally, with oil prices being hit badly.
Tehran’s attacks against the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar were launched in response to the joint US-Israeli assault on Iran late on Saturday where key figures in Iran’s political–military leadership were eliminated, leading to a massive power vacuum in the country.
The retaliatory strikes have landed a devastating blow to Gulf markets, with the mounting insecurity regarding regional security leading to elevated oil prices, weakening trade, logistics and tourism, and adding excess pressure to shipping.
Gulf stock markets also fell sharply when trading opened on Sunday, with Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index dropping more than 4 per cent at the open and closing down 2.2 pc. Oman closed down 1.4 pc and Egypt lost 2.5 pc, both paring earlier losses. Qatar’s index was down 2 pc in early trading on Monday.
The crisis has also rattled global markets, as Brent crude rocketed to just over USD $78 a barrel today, up from a Friday close of $72.87. Asian equities fell broadly, with India’s Sensex falling down to 1.3 pc, Japan’s Nikkei down 1.6 pc, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng losing 1.8 pc, and Taiwan’s benchmark shedding 0.9 pc.
European stocks were similarly hit as Germany’s DAX dropped 1.9 pc to 24,817.42, while in Paris the CAC 40 lost 1.7 pc to 8,435.80. Britain’s FTSE 100 slipped 1 pc to 10,808.53.
UAE, whose financial markets don’t trade on Sundays, took the rare step of closing the exchange on Monday and Tuesday. Kuwait was closed on Sunday and suspended trading until further notice.
Apart from oil, travel sectors, from airlines and cruise operators to global hotel chains, tumbled, with natural gas futures ballooning up to 6 pc and futures for fuel used for transportation as well as industrial purposes, spiking more than 14 pc.
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