Stock markets in the Gulf ended mixed on Thursday as the U.S. Federal Reserve signalling a possible start to interest rate cuts, while escalating tensions in the region weighed on investor sentiment.
The Federal Reserve committee’s decision to hold rates at 5.25%-5.5% on Wednesday was no surprise, but it emphasised that rates would not be cut until it had more confidence that inflation was truly beaten.
At a press conference, Fed Chair Jerome Powell flatly stated a cut as early as March seemed unlikely, but also conceded that everyone on the committee was looking to ease this year.
Most Gulf Cooperation Council countries, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), peg their currencies to the U.S. dollar and follow the Fed’s policy moves closely.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index gained 1%, snapping a three-day losing streak, with Al Rajhi Bank advancing 2.4% and the country’s biggest lender Saudi National Bank closing 1.4% higher.
Gulf bourses end mixed; Egypt rises
Elsewhere, oil giant Saudi Aramco rose 1.3%.
Brent crude futures were up 68 cents at $81.23 a barrel by 1140 GMT.
The Qatari benchmark dropped 0.4%, hit by a 1% fall in Qatar Islamic Bank and a 2.1% decrease in Islamic lender Masraf Al Rayan.
In Abu Dhabi, the index finished 0.4% lower, hit by a 3.7% slide in the UAE’s biggest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) despite a sharp rise in quarterly earnings.
FAB said net profit surged 63% to 4.01 billion dirhams ($1.09 billion) for the quarter ended Dec. 31, beating analysts’ average estimate of 3.6 billion dirhams.
Dubai’s main share index advanced 1.2%, with blue-chip developer Emaar Properties rising 1.5%.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index added 0.5%.
The International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday it was making progress in talks with Egypt on how to resume disbursements of a $3 billion loan, after a sharp slide in the currency on the black market increased the urgency for an agreement.
========================================= SAUDI ARABIA advanced 1% to 11,914 ABU DHABI fell 0.4% to 9,470 DUBAI gained 1.2% to 4,220 QATAR dropped 0.4% to 10,049 EGYPT up 0.5% to 28,434 BAHRAIN was down 0.1% to 2,067 OMAN was flat at 4,563 KUWAIT eased 0.5% to 7,918 =========================================
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