-- The Tadawul All Share Index closed 0.78% lower on Sunday amid market jitters on the updates regarding the fragile ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran.
Reuters reported that the Strait of Hormuz closed again after reopening for one day. The area was blocked off again after Iran accused the US of violating its agreement due to the blockade of ports in the Middle Eastern nation.
Further to this, the two sides noted that their talks to end the conflict were making progress. However, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh noted that there was no exact date for its next round of in-person discussions.
"We are now focusing on finalising the framework of understanding between two sides. We don't want to enter into any negotiation or meeting which is doomed to fail and which can be a pretext for another round of escalation," Khatibzadeh said. "Until we agree the framework, we cannot set the date... There was significant progress made actually. But then the maximalist approach by the other side, trying to make Iran an exception from international law prevented us to reach an agreement."
Back at home and on the corporate front, the board of Maharah Human Resources (SASE:1831) proposed to distribute a 0.13 Saudi riyal-per-share interim cash dividend for the second half of 2025, as well as increase its capital to 600 million riyals through bonus share issues. Shares of the human resources and outsourcing company closed 0.16% higher.
Looking ahead to the week, the local economic calendar will see the release of the real estate price index for the first quarter and the February short-term business indicators statistics figures on Monday, as well as the February import and export data on Thursday.