MIDEAST STOCKS-Most Gulf stocks in red as Trump rebuffs Iran sanctions easing

By Ateeq Shariff

Sept 30 (Reuters) - Most Gulf equity markets closed lower on Wednesday, with little hope of a resolution to the Middle East conflict despite Qatari mediators stepping up efforts after US President Donald Trump denied making any concession to Iran.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps urged American voters to unseat Trump's congressional allies, coinciding with a celebrated milestone as US forces prepared to vacate their remaining bases in neighboring Iraq.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index .TASI eased 0.1% on Wednesday, hurt by a 0.5% fall in Saudi National Bank 1180.SE, the country's biggest lender by assets. Energy giant Saudi Aramco 2222.SE, however, rose 0.2%.

The Qatari benchmark .QSI dropped 0.7%, weighed down by a 2.3% slide in the Gulf's biggest lender, Qatar National Bank QNBK.QA.

Dubai's main share index .DFMGI fell 0.5%, dragged down by a 1.8% decline in top lender Emirates NBD ENBD.DU.

In Abu Dhabi, the index .FTFADGI finished 0.6% lower.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index .EGX30 slipped 0.8%, with Commercial International Bank COMI.CA losing 1.3%.

Investors remained focused on geopolitics as renewed efforts to secure a US-Iran deal offered little immediate reassurance, said Milad Azar, market analyst at XTB MENA.

Regional export prospects brightened as Saudi Arabia resumed crude tanker loadings at its Red Sea terminal in Yanbu after restarting operations along the East-West Pipeline, according to shipping intelligence and trade sources.

But persistent disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz kept tensions elevated, with markets looking for concrete diplomatic progress, Azar added.

Qatar pressed ahead with shuttle diplomacy aimed at de-escalating the seven-month conflict between Washington and Tehran, after Trump reiterated his forecast of an imminent Iranian capitulation.

He rejected on Monday media reports of possible sanctions relief for Iran, writing on the Truth Social platform: "This is untrue. I offered them nothing."

Axios and CNN had cited unidentified US officials to report that Trump was willing to offer Iran sanctions relief and free up Iranian funds if Iran showed "concrete progress" on the nuclear issue.