Middle Eastern stocks tumble on regional tensions | Reuters

Middle Eastern stocks tumble on regional tensions | Reuters

Stock markets in the Middle East ended lower on Sunday amid tensions in the region following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, a day after an Israeli strike in Beirut killed a top military commander from Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.

A high-level Israeli delegation arrived in Cairo on Saturday for an attempt to resume Gaza ceasefire negotiations, but returned home later in the day, the Egyptian airport authority and Israeli media said.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI), opens new tab slid 2.4%, dragged down by a 10% plunge in aluminium products manufacturer Al Taiseer Group (4143.SE), opens new tab and a 2.7% drop in Al Rajhi Bank (1120.SE), opens new tab.

Among other losers, oil giant Saudi Aramco (2222.SE), opens new tab was down 1.3%.

Hezbollah forces on Friday resumed rocket and artillery attacks against Israel, ending a lull along the border following Israel's killing of the Lebanese group's military commander in Beirut.

The Qatari benchmark (.QSI), opens new tab lost 0.7%, with petrochemicals maker Industries Qatar (IQCD.QA), opens new tab falling 0.7%.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index (.EGX30), opens new tab declined 2.9%, with all the constituents of the index in negative territory including E-Finance for Digital and Financial Investment (EFIH.CA), opens new tab, which was down 8%.

Separately, Egypt's net foreign assets (NFAs) stayed positive for a second straight month in June having been deeply negative for more than two years, central bank data showed.

Schonfeld-Backed Hedge Fund Founder Moving to New Hub in #Dubai #UAE - Bloomberg

Schonfeld-Backed Hedge Fund Founder Moving to New Hub in Dubai - Bloomberg

Aster Capital Management founder Nabil Ouajjane is moving to Dubai from London, joining a rush of portfolio managers decamping to the emerging hub for investment firms.

Ouajjane is expanding his London-based Aster Capital’s operations to a new office in Dubai, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Ouajjane and four colleagues are preparing to move to the city this year, one of the people said, asking not to be identified because the details are private.

A former money manager at BlueCrest Capital Management, Ouajjane runs a quant equity strategy and employs 14 people at offices in London and New York. He will retain the London office, the person familiar with the matter said.

A representative for Aster Capital declined to comment.

Aster Capital won backing from Schonfeld Strategic Advisors in 2019 and manages money exclusively for them. Schonfeld has its own expanding team of traders based in Dubai, which has emerged as a magnet for hedge funds over the past few years.

Izzy Englander’s Millennium Management, Michael Platt’s BlueCrest and Balyasny Asset Management have all expanded operations in the city. They’ve sent dozens of traders to Dubai, drawn by a slew of incentives, a favorable timezone and a low tax regime.

Neighboring Abu Dhabi, which has the added attraction of being one of few cities globally to manage more than $1 trillion in sovereign wealth, has also managed to draw in big names.

Brevan Howard Asset Management now manages more money from that emirate than anywhere else, while Marshall Wace and Capula Investment Management have held talks with Abu Dhabi authorities to potentially expand operations there, Bloomberg News has reported.

#Israel Stocks Plunge on Global Market Selloff and Iran Threat - Bloomberg

Israel Stocks Plunge on Global Market Selloff and Iran Threat - Bloomberg

Israeli shares fell sharply on Sunday, catching up with weakness in world markets and reflecting the continued threat of attacks from Iran and its regional proxies.

The benchmark TA-35 stock index fell as much as 2.7%, the most in a week, before slightly paring losses to be down about 2.5% at shortly before 1 p.m. local time. The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange is closed Friday and Saturday.

“Tension from an Iranian reaction after the twin strikes in Tehran and Beirut is still in place, on top of the global market selloff” at the end of last week, said Adi Babani, head of international sales and trading at Meitav Investments Ltd. in Tel Aviv.

US stocks plunged on Friday after weak employment data sparked worries of an economic slowdown and sowed concern the Federal Reserve isn’t moving quickly enough to lower interest rates.

At the same time, Israel is bracing for a possible attack from Iran, which threatened to avenge last week’s assassinations of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders.

Hamas and Hezbollah are both designated by the US as terrorist organizations.

Sunday’s biggest declines were in dual-traded technology shares, catching up to their plunge in New York on Friday.

Nova Ltd. and Camtek Ltd., which both serve the semiconductor industry, slid by 11% each, while Tower Semiconductor Ltd. and Nice Ltd. were trading at about a 5% loss.

Ronen Menachem, chief markets economist at Mizrahi Tefahot Bank Ltd., attributed the slide to both the sharp drops in the US on Friday and “tremendous security tensions” in Israel.

“The market is expected to continue to be very nervous,” he said.

Investors are wavering between two potential scenarios, Menachem said. In the first, the current escalation continues and damages local economic activity, as well as spreading to international markets. In the second, pressure on Israel from allies will build, and eventually a formula will be found that will lead to a cease-fire in Gaza.

In the latter case, Israeli shares may return to a trend of price increases and even over-performance compared to markets abroad, he said. The TA-35 index made a record high less than a month ago.

Regional tensions also hit other Middle Eastern stock markets starting their new trading week, including those in Egypt and Saudi Arabia.