Gulf markets close higher amid expectations of no interest rate hike
Most stock markets in the Gulf region closed higher on Monday amid widespread expectations that the US Federal Reserve will decide not to raise interest rates, and lower oil prices limited growth.
Interest rates
According to the CME Group’s Fed Watch, 73.6% of money market participants expect the Federal Reserve to not raise interest rates during its monetary policy meeting, and 26.4% of them expect it to raise interest rates by 25 basis points.
Most Gulf currencies are pegged to the dollar, according to Reuters, with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar generally following changes in US monetary policy.
Stock markets
The Saudi Arabian stock market index rose 0.2%, recovering from minor losses in the previous session. The index was boosted by gains in the materials, healthcare and finance sectors after shares of Jabal Omar surged 2.1% and the Saudi industrial investment group surged 3.9%.
The Abu Dhabi index rose 0.1%, maintaining gains from previous sessions, helped by the growth of ADNOC Drilling by 2.2% and Alpha Abu Dhabi Holding by 0.8%.
Shares of First Abu Dhabi Bank, the UAE’s largest bank, rose 0.6%.
And the Dubai index extended gains for 12 consecutive sessions, climbing 0.1% on gains in the financial and utilities sectors as Union Real Estate Company jumped 7%, while Emaar Properties increased its share by 0.7%.
Shares of Emirates NBD, the emirate’s largest bank, rose 0.7%.
However, the Qatar index fell 0.6%, continuing its losses over the previous two sessions, with most sectors of the index down, with the financial and industrial sectors the biggest losers.
Shares of Qatar National Bank, the largest bank in the Gulf, fell 0.6%, while Commercial Bank of Qatar, which is weighted in the index, fell 1.5%, while shares of Qatari carriers, the largest owner of the LNG fleet in the world, lost 0.6%.
Oil prices
Oil prices, the main catalyst for financial markets in the Gulf, fell on Monday, with Brent oil falling 1.9% to $72.85 a barrel by 1300 GMT.
Egyptian market
Outside the Gulf region, the Egyptian blue-chip index tumbled 0.2%, ending a two-session gain after Commercial International Bank fell 1.4% and Telecom Egypt tumbled 1.9%.
