DUBAI: Most stock markets in the Gulf ended lower on Sunday in response to Friday’s fall in oil prices amid thin holiday-season trading.
Oil prices - a catalyst for the Gulf’s financial markets - settled more than 2 percent lower on Friday as investors weighed a looming global supply glut, while also keeping an eye on Ukraine peace deal talks on Sunday between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and US President Donald Trump.
Despite a rebound fuelled by recent supply issues from the December 16 near-five-year lows, oil is on pace for its biggest annual loss since 2020, with Brent crude down 19 percent year-to-date as increased production sparks worries of an impending oversupply next year.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index dropped 1 percent, with Al Rajhi Bank losing 1.1 percent and oil behemoth Saudi Aramco retreating 0.8 percent.
Lower oil prices and disruptions to crude exports impact fiscal balances in countries reliant on oil income.
In Qatar, the index fell 0.4 percent, with the Gulf’s biggest lender Qatar National Bank dropping 1.1 percent.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index gained 0.9 percent, with Telecom Egypt rising 2.2 percent.
Egypt’s central bank announced a 100 basis point cut to its overnight interest rates on Thursday, according to a statement from the monetary policy committee.