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Most Gulf stocks ended lower on Tuesday, while Abu Dhabi bucked the trend, as lower oil prices and Fed rate hike expectations dampened investor sentiment.
Oil prices – the main catalyst for Gulf financial markets – fell more than 1% on Tuesday, with March Brent crude futures down 1.25% to $83.97 a barrel by 1414 GMT.
Investors expect the Fed to raise interest rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday, and any deviation from that script would be a real shock.
Most Gulf currencies are pegged to the dollar, with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar typically mirroring changes in U.S. monetary policy.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index fell 0.2%, extending losses into a second session. The index was dragged down by a 1.8 percent drop in Saudi Basic Industries and a 0.2 percent drop in luxury real estate developer Retal Urban Development.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf’s second-largest economy, grew by 5.4% in the fourth quarter of 2022, down from an annual growth rate of 8.8% in the previous quarter, according to preliminary government estimates.
Most Gulf stocks fall, track oil; Dubai gains
In Abu Dhabi, the index rose 0.1%, helped by Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank’s 5.7% gain, its biggest one-day gain since July.
Abu Dhabi’s largest sharia-compliant bank reported a surge in quarterly net profit, supported by broad-based revenue momentum across all its operating businesses.
Dubai’s benchmark index edged lower, dragged down by losses in financials and heavyweight real estate sectors, with Dubai Islamic Bank falling 3 percent and Emaar Properties down 0.7 percent.
Qatar’s stock index fell 1.7%, with most constituents in the red.
“The warm winter is affecting energy demand in Europe and the US and could put pressure on the Qatari market,” said Farah Mourad, senior market analyst at XTB MENA.
Qatar National Bank, the largest lender in the Gulf region, continued to slide, falling 3 percent, while Masraf Al Rayan fell for a third straight session, falling 5.5 percent on weak earnings.
The bank reported on Sunday that its full-year net profit fell more than 22%.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index closed down 3.4 percent, extending losses into a second session, with almost all constituents in the red.
Commercial International Bank and E-Finance fell 5.7 percent and 6.1 percent, respectively.
========================================= SAUDI ARABIA fell 0.2% to 10,793 QATAR dropped 1.7% to 10,932 EGYPT declined 3.4% to 16,446 BAHRAIN lost 0.01% at 1,928 OMAN fell 1% to 4,704 KUWAIT ended flat at 8,085 ABU DHABI rose 0.1% to 9,812 DUBAI ended flat at 3,303 =========================================
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