Major stock markets in the Gulf rose in early trade on Thursday following a slew of upbeat corporate earnings, although regional tensions and dampened hopes of early rate cuts by the Federal Reserve limited gains.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index was up 0.4%, with oil behemoth Saudi Aramco rising 0.6%, while dual-listed operator Americana Restaurants International jumped about 10% after it set a one-time special dividend of alongside annual a regular payout.
The fast food restaurant operator in the Middle East and Kazakhstan reported full-year net profit attributable to shareholders of $259.5 million, little changed from 2022.
Separately, Saudi Arabia’s Modern Mills Company is seeking to raise up to 1.178 billion riyals ($314.12 million) from its planned initial public offering priced between 44 riyals and 48 riyals a share.
Most Gulf markets in black on Fed rate cut bets
In Abu Dhabi, the index added 0.2%, led by a 13.5% surge in Americana Restaurants International.
Dubai’s main share index edged 0.1% higher, helped by a 0.6% increase in top lender Emirates NBD, while Union Properties soared 12.4%, its biggest intraday rise since July if the gains hold.
The real estate developer on Wednesday recorded an annual net profit of 811 million dirhams ($220.82 million), up from 30 million dirhams in 2022.
The Qatari benchmark dropped 0.4%, as most of its constituents were in negative territory including Qatar Islamic Bank, which was down 1.3%.
Elsewhere, Gulf International Services slid 5.4%, falling the most since September, despite posting a rise in full-year profit.
Data On Tuesday showed US core consumer prices in January stayed at nearly double the Fed’s 2% target, forcing investors to reassess their rate cut expectations.
Most Gulf currencies are pegged to the dollar, and Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates usually mirror any monetary policy change in the United States.
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