Most major markets in the Gulf region fell on Tuesday as investors scrambled to secure their recent gains, pending Council plans Federal reserve Raise interest rates to view their impact on the economy and energy demand.
Fed policy makers say inflation data due later this week will help them decide whether they can slow the pace of interest rate hikes at their next meeting to just 25 basis points after larger jumps they have adopted for most of 2022.
Oil prices, a major catalyst for financial markets in the Gulf, stabilized on Tuesday as Brent crude futures for March rose 15 cents, or 0.19%, to $79.80 a barrel at 10:36 GMT, according to Reuters.
Daniel Taqi El-Din, CEO for the Middle East and North Africa at DB Suisse, said Gulf stock markets are under mounting pressure ahead of Federal Reserve chairman’s speech and with greater fluctuations in energy prices .
Saudi Arabia’s main index fell 0.1%, impacted by 0.8% declines in the share of Al-Rajhi Bank and 1.2% declines in its largest bank, the National Bank of Arabia Arabian.
Commenting on the performance of the Saudi market, financial market analyst Hamad Al-Olayan said that the arrival of international companies in the Saudi market provides an opportunity for other companies to come and be listed on Tadawul.
Olayan added in an interview with “Al-Arabiya” that Saudi Salik’s acquisition of shares in food companies, including “Olam”, with the aim of securing food for the Kingdom, both in Singapore and in other places, strengthen the position of ” Salik” in the coming periods.
He stressed that markets await inflation data later this week and want inflation levels below 7%.
Olayan expected that easing inflation levels would help the Fed address the announced approach, with a 25 basis point hike over the next two meetings.
In the Dubai market, the main index fell by 0.3%, penalized by more than 1% declines in the share of Emaar Properties and 0.7% in the share of Dubai Islamic Bank.
In Qatar, the main index fell 0.1% after its biggest bank, the Qatar National Bank, fell 1.2%.
As for the Abu Dhabi main market index, it climbed 0.3%, ending 4 consecutive sessions of losses. The index rose, supported by Etisalat shares rising by 3.4% and Buruj shares by about 2%, after the conclusion of two new contracts worth 55 million dirhams ($14.98 million).
Outside the Gulf region, the main index in Egypt fell 3.6%, posting its biggest drop in more than 6 months, ending a seven-day streak of gains. Nearly all stocks in the Gulf region index recorded declines, including the Commercial International Bank, which fell 6.2%.
According to Taqi El-Din, the market is seeing weak trading volumes in light of continued pressure on the Egyptian pound and higher-than-expected inflation.
in Bahrain; The main index stood at 1889 points, while the main index of the Muscat Stock Exchange increased by 0.5% to 4872 points.
In Kuwait, the main index jumped 1% to 8040 points.
