Trump's Gaza Plans Add Uncertainty to Middle East Markets

Middle East markets' performance varied after US President Donald Trump said his country wanted to take control of the Gaza Strip.

US President Donald Trump revealed the US plan to control the Gaza Strip, and said he looked forward to the U.S. having "long-term ownership" of the Strip.

Trump said, during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that the Gaza Strip would turn into the "Riviera of the Middle East" after America took control of it, according to him.

Reactions to the US President's statements from many countries around the world opposed the idea, which warned against the forced displacement of Gaza residents.

The main Saudi stock market index closed, Wednesday, down 19.53 points to close at 12,414.40 points, with trading worth 7 billion riyals.

The volume of shares traded on the Saudi stock market reached 315 million shares, in which the shares of 102 companies recorded an increase in their value, while the shares of 122 companies closed down, according to the Saudi Press Agency "SPA".

While the Egyptian Stock Exchange index "EGX 30" rose by 0.23% to 29735.59 points, and the small and medium-sized stocks index "EGX 70" rose by 0.08% to 8541.02 points.

The Dubai Financial Market closed today with a marginal decrease of 0.003% at 5218.93 points, with total trading of 533.1 million dirhams, with a trading volume of 169.2 million shares.

The Abu Dhabi Securities Market index rose marginally by 0.04% to 9584.85 points, with total trading of 1.16 billion dirhams, and a trading volume of 268.3 million shares.

Kuwait Stock Exchange closed its trading with its general index down 3.87 points, or 0.05%, to reach 7900.09 points, amid trading of 658.5 million shares through 22755 transactions worth 172.2 million dinars (about 530.3 million dollars), while the main market index rose 16.73 points, or 0.23%, to reach 7291.60 points through trading of 425.3 million shares through 11959 transactions worth 95.7 million dinars (about 294.7 million dollars). 

The Premier Market Index fell 9.52 points, or 0.11%, to reach 8442.90 points through trading of 206.18 million shares through 10796 transactions worth 76.5 million dinars (about 235.6 million dollars).

The Bahrain All Share Index closed at 1873.20, up 8.41 points from the previous closing rate, while the Bahrain Islamic Index closed at 777.89, up 3.46 points from its previous closing rate. The volume of traded shares reached 1,362,560 shares, with a total value of 297,329 Bahraini dinars, executed through 77 transactions.

The Qatar Stock Exchange index also closed its trading, Wednesday, down 1.39 points, or 0.01%, to reach 10657.44 points. During the session, 219,197,590 shares were traded, with a value of 562,112,953,658 riyals, as a result of executing 19,301 transactions in all sectors. The session witnessed the rise of shares of 20 companies, while shares of 25 other companies declined, and 6 companies maintained their previous closing price.

The Muscat Securities Market (MSM) general index fell by 0.3% at the close at 4,573 points, while the Oman Stock Exchange Index closed down by 0.39% at 2,609.7 points.

Francesco Bisoli, a foreign exchange strategist at ING, said, "Markets are dealing with skepticism with Trump's stated intention to control the Gaza Strip and evacuate the Palestinians to neighboring countries," according to Reuters.

He added that Trump's comments that the United States might deploy troops "sparked risk aversion and were positive for oil and the dollar, as Arab countries should strongly oppose this move."

Assets in Egypt and Jordan, which Trump pressured to receive Palestinians from Gaza, are highly sensitive to developments in the region. Investors see their path as linked to international support that could be enhanced given the geopolitical importance of Egypt and Jordan for peace efforts.

Yields on Lebanon’s troubled dollar-denominated bonds hit nearly 100% last year as investors welcomed the weakening of the militant group Hezbollah and said the election of Lebanon’s first president since 2022 by parliament could pave the way for economic recovery.