© Archyde.com. A trader follows the movement of stock trading in the Saudi stock market in Riyadh, in a photo from Archyde.com archive.
(Archyde.com) – The stock market rose on Sunday following US inflation data boosted hopes that the Federal Reserve (the US central bank) may be close to ending the cycle of raising interest rates, but the Qatari index bucked the trend and closed lower.
Most Gulf currencies are pegged to the US dollar, and Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE usually track any changes in US monetary policy.
And the main index in Saudi Arabia increased by 0.4 percent, supported by the rise of the share of Retal for Urban Development by 0.5 percent, and the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC (TADAWUL)) by 1.7 percent.
Data published on Thursday showed that the unemployment rate among Saudis fell to eight percent in the last quarter of 2022, compared to 9.9 percent in the previous quarter, while the labor force participation rate among Saudis stabilized at 52.5 percent.
The General Authority for Statistics said in a statement that the overall unemployment rate in the kingdom, which includes Saudis and non-Saudis, fell to 4.8 percent from 5.8 percent in the third quarter.
It rose, a major catalyst for Gulf financial markets, by more than a barrel on Friday.
Outside the Gulf region, the leading index in Egypt rose 1.7 percent, and the performance of most of the stocks listed on it rose, including immediate banking technology and electronic payments, whose share jumped by more than seven percent.
On Thursday, the central bank raised the overnight interest rate by 200 basis points following a meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee, saying the measure was aimed at controlling high inflation.
In Qatar, the main index fell 1.2 percent, while prices are still under pressure.
BAHRAIN .. The main index rose 0.2 percent to 1890 points.
Sultanate of Oman..the main index fell 1.1 percent to 4812 points.
Kuwait.. the main index increased 0.2 percent to 7839 points.
(Reporting by Ateeq Sharif in Bengaluru – Prepared by Marwa Gharib for the Arabic Bulletin – Edited by Ali Khafaji)
