Saudi and Egyptian bourses fell on Sunday after the Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted drones and missiles over Riyadh and southern regions as fighting with Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis intensified, Reuters reported in its later market update on Sunday.
Source: Reuters via TradingView
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index, TASI, dropped 2.6%, pressured by broad-based selling, Reuters reported. The coalition's interception account is the coalition's own statement, reported by Reuters; Awaaz Punjab has not independently verified the interceptions.
Source: Reuters via TradingView
In early trade, most Gulf bourses had already fallen, with investors unsettled by intensifying clashes between Yemen's Iran-allied Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition, Reuters reported earlier on Sunday. In that early report, Saudi Arabia's benchmark declined 1.1%, weighed down by a 1.2% fall for oil company Saudi Aramco.
Source: Reuters via TradingView (early trade); Business Recorder summary via EIN News
The market fall followed a renewed Houthi warning on Sunday against using Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the airport remained a 'military target' — the Houthis' own claim, reported by Reuters — hours after the airport announced it would designate two terminals for flights following a suspension earlier this month.
Source: Reuters via BusinessWorld
For Punjabi and Indian workers in Saudi Arabia and across the Gulf, the renewed fighting matters beyond markets: it affects flights, workplaces and remittances, and Awaaz Punjab's earlier coverage reported the airport's partial resumption and the Houthi warning against reopening it.
Source: Reuters via BusinessWorld; Awaaz Punjab earlier coverage
Awaaz Punjab earlier reported Riyadh airport resuming operations after a missile interception, and the Houthis' warning over that reopening. Read the Riyadh airport report