DUBAI: Most stock markets in the Gulf were restrained on Tuesday as oil prices fell and investors awaited signals from the US Federal Reserve’s annual Jackson Hole conference later this week.
Crude prices, a catalyst for the Gulf’s financial markets, slid 1.1% ahead of possible three-way talks involving Moscow, Kyiv and Washington to end the war in Ukraine, which would likely lead to the lifting of sanctions on Russian crude.
The Qatari benchmark index fell 0.4%, declining for a third straight session as investors booked profits after an earnings-driven rally. Telecom company Ooredoo dropped 2.9% and Commercial Bank lost 2%.
The Abu Dhabi benchmark index fell marginally, extending its longest losing streak since February 2024, as declines in materials, financials and consumer discretionary stocks outweighed gains elsewhere.
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank fell 1.6% and E7 Group
slid 1.3%, while Pure Health Holding and Abu Dhabi National Energy rose 1.4% and 0.6%, respectively. TAQA’s unit Masdar and partners reached financial close on a roughly $1.1 billion solar project in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark stock index was little changed, with ACWA Power up 1.3%, while oil major Saudi Aramco eased 0.3%.
Dubai’s benchmark stock index was up for a fourth straight session and rose 0.4%, with most sectors higher. Emaar Properties gained 1% and Dubai Electricity and Water Authority added 1.1% after the state utility said it began trial operations and electricity export from the Hatta pumped-storage hydropower plant to Dubai.
Investors are awaiting the Fed’s symposium in Jackson Hole that starts on Friday; Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks will be parsed for clues on the economic outlook and monetary policy.
Monetary policy shifts in the US have a significant impact on Gulf markets, where most currencies are pegged to the dollar.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index rose 0.8%, lifted by a 1.4% gain in Commercial International Bank
and a 2.2% rise in Fawry for Banking. Arabian Cement jumped 4.4% to a record high of 45.73 Egyptian pounds after reporting that second-quarter group profit more than tripled.
“Market was supported by healthy improvements in macroeconomic conditions and the potential for a further rate cut by (Egypt’s) central bank, which meets next week”, said Joseph Dahrieh, managing principal at Tickmill.
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