The escalation of the US Iran conflict dragged down the Gulf stock market, with Qatar leading the decline According to a report by Golden Finance, on July 9th, Qatar's stock market led the decline in most major Gulf markets, continuing its recent decline after the largest escalation in the conflict between the United States and Iran since the 60 day peace agreement was reached last month. A new report from the International Monetary Fund shows that Qatar is the commodity producing country most directly affected by energy output and transportation disruptions. Qatar's QE Index fell 0.8%, Saudi Arabia's benchmark index fell 0.4%, and Dubai Financial Market General Index fell 0.2%.