Most stock markets in the Gulf ended lower on Sunday, tracking global peers, after a report showing US consumer sentiment slumped to a six-month low in May reinforced bearish sentiment over talks to raise the US government’s debt ceiling.
The Congressional Budget Office warned on Friday that the United States faced a “significant risk” of defaulting on payment obligations within the first two weeks of June if the government’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling was not raised, adding that payment operations will remain uncertain throughout May.
US consumer sentiment slumped to a six-month low in May on worries that political haggling over raising the borrowing cap could trigger a recession, the University of Michigan survey showed on Friday.
Earnings boost Saudi index; oil weighs on other markets
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index fell 0.4%, with Dr Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical Services losing 1% and Riyad Bank retreating 1.3%.
The Qatari index declined 0.7%, with Islamic lender Masraf Al Rayan losing 0.7%.
Oil prices, a key catalyst for the Gulf’s financial markets, settled more than 1% lower on Friday, falling for the third consecutive week, as the market balanced supply fears against renewed economic concerns in the United States and China.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index advanced 0.6%, with Commercial International Bank gaining 0.7%.
Egypt’s government sold a 9.5% stake in state-controlled Telecom Egypt for 3.75 billion Egyptian pounds ($121.56 million), the finance ministry said in a statement on Sunday, breathing life into a privatisation programme that had seemingly stalled.
Shares of Telecom Egypt were up 3%.
SAUDI ARABIA lost 0.4% to 11,348
QATAR dropped 0.7% to 10,669
EGYPT added 0.6% to 17,369
BAHRAIN was up 0.2% to 1,941
OMAN rose 0.8% to 4,705
KUWAIT declined 0.7% to 7,614
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