Shaimaa Hefzy

The Saudi stock exchange opened trading on Tuesday with a slight decline of 0.1% for its main index, hours after the Saudi Ministry of Defense announced that the US embassy in Riyadh had been targeted, as part of the repercussions of Iranian attacks on Gulf countries since the Israeli-American strike against Tehran.

Last Saturday, Israel and the United States launched attacks against Iran, resulting in the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and a number of Tehran leaders. Iran responded with attacks targeting American bases in the Gulf states, causing disruption to air traffic, losses in the stock market, and obstruction of oil tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.

The official spokesman for the Ministry of Defense said in a post on the X platform in the early hours of Tuesday: "The US Embassy in Riyadh was attacked by two drones according to initial estimates, resulting in a limited fire and minor material damage to the building."

The Qatar Stock Exchange opened trading with a marginal decline of about 0.6%, while the Muscat Stock Exchange index was almost stable.

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and the Dubai Financial Market were temporarily closed on Tuesday for the second day in a row as a result of the events.

Due to the continued escalation in the Middle East, liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices jumped after Qatar Energy decided to halt LNG production, with sources reporting its intention to declare force majeure on LNG shipments, meaning it would be unable to meet its obligations.

Oil prices continued their rise, trading near $80 a barrel amid concerns about supply disruptions. Major global producers, most notably China, rely heavily on oil from the Middle East.

Meanwhile, gold prices eased, paring their gains to trade at $5,316 an ounce.

(Prepared by: Shaimaa Hefzy, for contact: zawya.arabic@lseg.com)

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