SRMED
Englishعربي
Englishعربي
Most Gulf stock markets rose in early trading on Thursday as investors watched for signs from the expected meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, with hopes that diplomacy could help ease broader market anxiety tied to the Iranian war. The move came alongside a pullback in oil prices, suggesting traders were balancing geopolitical risk against the possibility that a high-level U.S.-China meeting could calm global markets.
According to asharq-al-awsat, the upbeat tone lifted several regional exchanges, even as concerns over the conflict involving Iran continued to shape sentiment. Gulf markets are often closely tied to oil and to developments in global politics, so any shift in expectations around major powers can quickly influence prices and investor behavior. The prospect of dialogue between Washington and Beijing appeared to support risk appetite, at least for the start of the session.
At the same time, oil prices slipped below the $100 mark. US crude futures fell $1.15 to $99.87 a barrel, according to the report on the market reaction. That decline reflected a more optimistic atmosphere around the Beijing summit, with traders appearing less inclined to rush into energy as a safe haven while waiting for the outcome of the meeting.
The combination of firmer Gulf equities and softer oil underscores how closely regional markets remain linked to both geopolitical developments and expectations for the world economy. For Gulf states, where government finances and market performance are heavily influenced by energy revenues, even modest changes in crude prices can have a broad effect on investor confidence.
What happens next will depend in part on whether the Trump-Xi meeting produces any concrete signals on trade, diplomacy, or efforts to contain the fallout from the Iranian war. For now, the market reaction suggests investors are hopeful that the meeting could reduce uncertainty, even if the underlying conflict continues to weigh on sentiment.