Stock markets in the Gulf ended mixed on Wednesday, with the Saudi index snapping a five-day losing streak amid rising oil prices, although investors remained cautious ahead of U.S. inflation data.
The data, expected later this week, is likely to show that price pressures remain elevated in the world’s largest economy, keeping the Federal Reserve’s aggressive monetary policy on track to continue until next year.
Most Gulf Cooperation Council countries, including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar, have their currencies pegged to the dollar and generally follow the Fed’s policy moves, exposing the region to a direct impact from monetary tightening there.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index added 0.3%, ending five sessions of losses, helped by a 1.8% rise in the country’s biggest lender Saudi National Bank.
The Saudi market was volatile after a series of losses and remained exposed to uncertainty in oil markets, said Fadi Reyad, Chief Market Analyst at CAPEX.com.
“The main index could rebound if crude strengthens more consistently.”
Oil futures recouped some losses, recovering from a 2% slide in the previous session, supported by supply concerns stemming from last week’s OPEC+ cut to its production target, though a stronger dollar weighed on sentiment.
Dubai’s main share index finished 0.2% higher, with Dubai Financial Market advancing 6.6%.
The UAE launched an unemployment insurance scheme on Tuesday as part of reforms aimed at attracting more talent and investment to the regional business hub amid rising competition.
Gulf states Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have provided some form of unemployment support to citizens, while Bahrain also has a form of jobless insurance for resident non-citizen workers.
In Abu Dhabi, the index lost 0.2%.
The Qatari benchmark index gained 0.8%, with the Gulf’s biggest lender Qatar National Bank increasing more than 2%.
According to analyst Reyad, the Qatari bourse leaned to the positive side thanks to stronger natural gas prices.
“Natural gas markets could benefit from firmer demand from European countries as winter approaches and temperatures slide.”
Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index declined 0.7%, extending losses from the previous session.
======================================= SAUDI ARABIA rose 0.3% to 11,551 ABU DHABI lost 0.2% to 9,734 DUBAI added 0.2% to 3,325 QATAR gained 0.8% to 12,850 EGYPT lost 0.7% to 9,801 BAHRAIN eased 0.2% to 1,875 OMAN was up 0.5% to 4,544 KUWAIT dropped 0.6% to 7,851 =======================================
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