Major stock markets in the Gulf showed a mixed performance on Tuesday, amid falling oil prices and expectations that the US Federal Reserve will end interest rate hikes.
The Fed’s November meeting minutes are likely to offer more clues about monetary policy after slowing inflation raised expectations that US interest rates will peak. The minutes will be published at 19:00 GMT.
Monetary policy in the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is generally guided by the decisions of the US Federal Reserve, as most regional currencies are pegged to the dollar.
The Qatar index rose 0.4%, paring the previous session’s losses, helped by a 1.8% rise in Industries Qatar and a 3% rise in Qatar International Islamic Bank.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index rose 0.1%, while Marafiq gained 1.7% and First Milling Co rose 3.2%.
Major Gulf markets relaxed, Saudis ended 4-day winning streak
In Abu Dhabi, the benchmark index fell 0.4% due to a 2.9% decline in Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and a 1.1% decline in Abu Dhabi National Petroleum Distribution Company.
Dubai’s benchmark index fell 0.4%, marking three consecutive sessions of gains, led by a 0.7% decline in developer Emaar Properties and a 1.1% decline in Emirates Central Cooling Systems.
Oil prices, a catalyst for the Gulf’s financial markets, eased with Brent falling 0.5 percent to $81.94 a barrel by 13:00 GMT.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue chip index rose 0.1%, supported by a 4.5% rise in Telecom Egypt and a 4.3% rise in Misr Fertilizer.
========================================= SAUDI ARABIA rose 0.1% to 11,129 KUWAIT added 0.4% to 7,292 QATAR gained 0.4% to 10,226 EGYPT was up 0.1% to 24,774 BAHRAIN ended flat at 1,946 OMAN was up 0.1% to 4,621 ABU DHABI dropped 0.4% to 9,542 DUBAI fell 0.4% to 3,985 =========================================
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