2024-02-05 14:47:00
© Reuters. Traders at the Bahrain Stock Exchange in Manama. Image from Reuters archive.
From Sharif Ateeq
(Reuters) – Stock markets in the Gulf region closed mixed on Monday following a strong jobs report in the United States dashed expectations of a near-term interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve (the US central bank).
Data on Friday showed US job growth accelerated in January and wages rose the most in nearly two years, signs of continued strength in the labor market that is encouraging the Federal Reserve to start easing later rather than sooner.
Most Gulf Cooperation Council countries, including the UAE, have their currencies pegged to the US dollar and closely follow the Federal Reserve’s policy movements.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said in an interview aired Sunday that he wants to wait until he is more confident that inflation is falling sustainably before cutting interest rates.
It rose 0.5 percent, with the shares of the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (TADAWUL:) achieving an increase of 1.3 percent.
On the other hand, the shares of the oil giant Aramco (TADAWUL:) fell 0.5 percent.
Oil prices, a catalyst for financial markets in the Gulf region, fell once more on Monday. A strong US jobs report capped sharp declines last week, dampening hopes for quick interest rate cuts, although the US vowed to continue air strikes in the Middle East, keeping geopolitical tensions high.
Dubai’s main stock index rose 0.1 percent, supported by a 2.2 percent rise in TECOM Group.
It fell 0.3 percent.
A survey on Monday showed that non-oil trade activity in the UAE fell to its lowest levels in five months in January as the pace of growth in new orders and employment slowed.
The Qatari index fell 1.5 percent, with all its stocks declining, including Qatar Islamic Bank, which fell 2.5 percent.
Outside the Gulf region, the leading stock index rose 0.3 percent, supported by a 10.3 percent rise in Talaat Moustafa Group (EGX:) shares.
(Prepared by Muhammad Harfouche for the Arabic Bulletin – Edited by Hassan Ammar)
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