Laurie McAughtry

When missile alerts and falling drone debris briefly halted operations at Abu Dhabi’s Habshan Gas Complex this April, Gulf investors confronted a kind of volatility they were not positioned for. Oil prices surged on fears of disruption then retreated on news of ceasefire talks, but local equities and credit failed to stabilise. Unlike past crises, higher crude prices did little to cushion regional assets. The difference this time was not just the scale of the shock, but its location.

Middle East equity markets are being tested by a new bout of geopolitical volatility, and not all of them are responding the same way. Trading data from the weeks following the February escalation shows a clear split. Larger, more established markets such as Saudi Arabia and Israel have absorbed higher volumes and sustained activity, while smaller venues have seen liquidity thin quickly.

Discover what financial leaders across the market think about digital asset infrastructure, DLT maturity, tokenisation progress and the digital forces defining the next phase of transformation. This snapshot report reveals how far the industry has come – and how much further it needs to go.