DUBAI: Most Gulf stock markets ended higher on Wednesday as fears of a banking crisis receded and hopes of a more modest interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve lifted investor sentiment.

The markets now await the Fed’s monetary policy decision, due later in the day, with most analysts expecting the Fed to raise the rate by 25 bps to tame inflation, but Goldman Sachs said a pause would be “warranted”.

Most Gulf currencies are pegged to the US dollar, while Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar usually mirror US monetary policy changes.