Egypt Leads Mideast Stock Losses Amid Strikes; Israel Rebounds
(Bloomberg) -- Most Middle Eastern markets dropped on Sunday as investors signaled growing concerns of a wider conflict amid tit-for-tat attacks by Israel and Iran.
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Egypt's main stock index was the worst performer among markets that opened for the first time since the attack began on Friday, posting the biggest losses in more than a year on concerns that a halt in Israeli gas production will lead to fuel shortages in the import-dependent country. Its currency weakened past the 50-per-dollar mark at local bank trades.
Israel's equity benchmark ended higher, erasing intraday losses, as defense supplier Elbit Systems Ltd. rallied. In Saudi Arabia, the Tadawul gauge's declines were limited by Aramco, which gained on the back of higher oil prices.
The escalation comes at a challenging time for Middle Eastern equities after they underperformed global markets so far this year, dragged by oil-price volatility, geopolitical uncertainty and fiscal strains in some countries including Saudi Arabia. The weekend's events have already dented hopes for a quick end to the hostilities and boosted demand for haven assets such as gold and the dollar.
'It is no surprise that with an open-ended Israel-Iran shooting war under way, that regional markets have been pounded too, as far as Egypt, which has seen gas supplies from Israel cut off,' said Hasnain Malik, a strategist at Tellimer in Dubai. 'The spike in oil price reflects the risk of Iranian exports going offline but not serious disruption to the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of global oil falls.'
Israel and Iran continued to bombard each other for a third day, their long-standing enmity erupting into open conflict on the heels of hostilities in Gaza and Lebanon. It has already led to the cancellation of nuclear talks between Iran and the US and undermined cross-asset bets in the region predicated on a return of peace.
Egypt's EGX 30 Index fell as much as 7.7%, before paring losses to 4.6%. All its 31 stocks posted declines, while the pound traded as weak as 50.6 units per dollar, according to local-bank quotes. Israel shut down production at its biggest natural gas field over the weekend, stopping supplies to Egypt.
Israel's stock index rose 0.5% as of 4:05 p.m in Tel Aviv thanks to a 6% jump in defense supplier Elbit. The maker of rockets, drones and aerial defense systems for Israel's army said last month it's betting on growing business in Europe as well.
The Saudi market mostly joined the selloff as 222 of the benchmark index's 253 stocks posted losses. However, the impact was offset by gains for Saudi Aramco, which rose 1.8% on the back of Friday's surge in crude prices.
Other markets across the region including Kuwait and Qatar retreated.
Investors' key concern remains oil supply chains and prices. West Texas Intermediate crude futures advanced more than 7% to settle near $73 a barrel on Friday, for the biggest one-day jump since March 2022.
'In the most negative scenario of a complete disruption to Iranian oil supply and a closure of the strait of Hormuz, oil could rise to above $120 per barrel,' said George Saravelos, global head of FX strategy at Deutsche Bank AG.
--With assistance from Galit Altstein, Omar Tamo and Tarek El-Tablawy.
(Updates prices throughout.)
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