Major Gulf markets jump after Israel-Iran ceasefire

A Saudi trader observes the stock market on monitors at Falcom stock exchange agency in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. File/Reuters
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Updated 24 June 2025
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Major Gulf markets jump after Israel-Iran ceasefire

  • Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index rose 2.1%
  • Dubai’s main share index jumped 3.1%

LONDON: Major stock markets in the Gulf advanced in early trade on Tuesday with risk appetite improving after US President Donald Trump said Iran and Israel had agreed to a ceasefire.

Trump announced a complete ceasefire, potentially ending the 12-day war that saw millions flee Tehran and prompted fears of further escalation in the region.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index rose 2.1 percent, led by a 1.9 percent rise in Al Rajhi Bank and a 2.1 percent increase in the country’s biggest lender Saudi National Bank.

Elsewhere, recently-listed Flynas surged more than 7 percent to 79.80 riyals.

However, oil behemoth Saudi Aramco declined 1.7 percent, while fertilizers firm SABIC Agri-Nutrients Company retreated 1.1 percent.

Oil prices hit their lowest in two weeks after Israel agreed to Trump’s proposal, alleviating worries of supply disruptions in the Middle East, a major oil-producing region.

Brent crude futures were down $3.82, or 5.3 percent, at $67.66 a barrel at 0645 GMT.

Dubai’s main share index jumped 3.1 percent — its biggest intraday rise since mid-December if the gains hold — buoyed by a 4.7 percent rise in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties.

Among other gainers, budget airliner Air Arabia soared 7.2 percent — its biggest single-day rise in over three years if the gains persist.

Israel has agreed to Trump’s proposal for a ceasefire with Iran after it achieved its goal of removing Tehran’s nuclear and ballistic missile threat, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement posted by his office on Tuesday.

In Abu Dhabi, the index gained 2.2 percent, led by a 8.3 percent leap in Aldar Properties.

The benchmark index in Qatar climbed more than 2 percent, with Qatar Islamic Bank rising 2.2 percent.

Qatar reopened its airspace after a brief suspension, its civil aviation authority said early on Tuesday, following a missile attack by Iran on an American air base in Qatar on Monday that caused no injuries.


No Saudi acquisition offers: FC Barcelona tells Al-Eqtisadiah

Updated 16 December 2025
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No Saudi acquisition offers: FC Barcelona tells Al-Eqtisadiah

CAIRO: FC Barcelona has not received any offers, whether from Saudi Arabia or elsewhere, to acquire the club, according to an official source who spoke to Al-Eqtisadiah.

According to the source, the circulating news regarding the possibility of finalizing a deal to acquire the club in the coming period is a mere rumor.

Recent Spanish reports had indicated the possibility of a Saudi acquisition of Barcelona shares for around €10 billion ($11.7 billion), a move considered capable of saving the club from its financial crises if it were to happen, especially as it suffers from debts estimated at around €2.5 billion.

Sale not in management’s hands

Joan Gaspart, the former president of the club, confirmed that the current board of directors, chaired by Joan Laporta, does not have the right to dispose of the club’s ownership.

He added: “FC Barcelona is owned by about 150,000 members, and selling the club is something the owners will not accept. FC Barcelona possesses something no other club in the world has; money is very important, and so is passion, but the sentiment of the members today is to continue what the club has been for 125 years.”

High market value

Despite the financial crisis the club has been going through in recent years, FC Barcelona ranks sixth on the list of the world’s highest market value clubs, with an estimated value of €1.12 billion, according to Transfermarkt. Meanwhile, its rival Real Madrid tops the list with a market value of €1.38 billion.