Gulf markets wobble
Gulf equities edged lower as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran entered its third week, while oil-price and geopolitical fears pushed investors to reassess regional risk — the ASX stayed relatively steady amid the shock reported. Abu Dhabi and UAE officials are publicly stressing resilience even as markets and investors grow cautious said.
Three Gulf states are now reviewing how they deploy "trillions" held in sovereign wealth funds to offset market losses from the conflict, a Reuters dispatch on March 11 [noted reported]msn.com. International insurance law firm Kennedys warned the crisis could produce a rare, multi-line insurance event affecting property, marine, aviation and political-violence [covers warned]kennedyslaw.com. S&P Global Ratings has flagged a surge in hacktivist and cyber activity that could test cyber war exclusions and underwriting wordings across insurers and [reinsurers flagged]insurancebusinessmag.com. Moody’s analysts told Gulf News they expect losses to be concentrated in marine and aviation lines but "manageable" for large global insurers, even as disruption to shipping routes pushes claims risk [higher said]gulfnews.com. Market moves amplified balance-sheet stress: Dubai’s main index slid about 3.6% and Abu Dhabi fell roughly 2.3% while Boursa Kuwait suspended trading amid strikes, according to regional market [reports reported]brecorder.com. UAE real-estate developer bonds have registered steep losses, prompting selling in related credit and increasing potential investment losses for insurers with corporate bond [exposure reported]bloomberg.com. Insurers are already seeing stronger pricing and higher demand for political-violence and marine covers, and Abu Dhabi-listed carriers such as ADNIC — which reported FY25 pre-tax profit AED 533.1m and has seen recent trading resumptions — face elevated premium and investment [volatility reported]gulfnews.com.
