Saudi stocks extend decline as energy attacks shake investor sentiment

Saudi Arabia’s stock market fell for a second consecutive session on September 14, 2026, as drone strikes on energy infrastructure rattled investors and forced the precautionary shutdown of one of the kingdom’s most important oil pipelines. The Tadawul All Share Index (.TASI) slipped 0.3%, a relatively modest decline on its own but one that followed a much steeper drop of roughly 1.0% to 1.3% the previous day. The pipeline that matters At the center of the selloff is the East-West oil pipeline, also known as the Petroline. This conduit carries between 4 and 7 million barrels of crude per day, which works out to approximately 4% of global oil supply. Saudi authorities ordered a precautionary shutdown of the pipeline after drone strikes targeted installations in the Riyadh and Medina regions. The attacks have been linked to Iranian-backed groups, with reports pointing to Houthi involvement in strikes on Saudi energy sites and regional shipping routes. Additional strikes on southern facilities and vessels only compounded the sense that this is not an isolated incident but part of an escalating pattern. How the damage spread across the Tadawul Saudi Aramco, the kingdom’s crown jewel an...