Six of the seven open markets in the Middle East fell on Sunday, with Riyadh's decline the deepest and Bahrain the only gainer. The Tadawul All Share closed 0.78% lower at 10,016.92 on SAR 2.74 billion of trading, The Edge reported, drawing on the exchanges' own closing data.

The fall in Riyadh was not a broad one: rising stocks still outnumbered falling ones 140 to 119. Naseej rose 10.00% and Saudi German Health 9.98%. Saudi Aramco, the state-controlled energy giant, slipped just 0.31%, while Arabian Drilling jumped 5.55%, Finimize reported.

Cairo ends its run, Bahrain stands apart

Cairo's EGX 30 fell 0.67% to 50,812.07, ending three straight gains. Bahrain's All Share added 0.31% to 1,821.32, with Seef Properties up 1.57% and Aluminium Bahrain up 1.53%. Muscat's MSX 30 slipped 0.17%, even as Musandam Power rose 9.70%, and Amman's ASE index eased 0.13% as decliners outnumbered gainers 42 to 33. Dubai and Abu Dhabi do not trade on Sunday, so they had no session.

Finimize linked the Saudi slide to reports of explosions in Iran and attacks near the Strait of Hormuz, which unsettled investors at the start of the region's trading week. The pattern fits a market that is pricing war risk rather than company news: the index fell even though more of its stocks rose than fell, and the biggest moves were in names reacting to the security headlines.

What to watch next

With US-Iran diplomacy in focus and Houthi strikes on Saudi targets continuing, Gulf markets are likely to stay sensitive to each new headline. The test for Riyadh is whether Sunday's fall was a one-day reaction to the weekend's news or the start of a longer slide, and that will depend on whether the region's fighting eases or spreads.