closed Most of the Gulf stock markets On Tuesday, lower oil prices and expectations of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates dampened investor sentiment, while the Abu Dhabi index bucked the trend.
Oil prices, the main catalyst for financial markets in the Gulf, fell more than 1% today, as Brent crude futures for March delivery fell 1.25% to $83.97 a barrel by 14:14 GMT.
Investors expect the US central bank to raise interest rates by 25 basis points tomorrow, Wednesday, and any departure from this scenario will be a real shock.
Most Gulf countries peg their currencies to the US dollar, and Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar usually follow the example of the United States in their monetary policy.
And the Saudi index fell 0.2%, extending its losses for the second session, affected by a decline of 1.8% for the share of the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), and a decline of 0.2% for the share of Retal Urban Development Company.
However, the Abu Dhabi index rose 0.1%, supported by a 5.7% increase in Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, which recorded the highest intraday rise since July.
The Dubai index fell slightly, affected by losses in the stocks of financial and real estate companies with weight on the index, as the shares of Dubai Islamic Bank and Emaar Properties fell 3% and 0.7%, respectively.
The Qatari index fell 1.7%, with most of the stocks listed on the index falling.
“Moderate winters are affecting energy demand in Europe and the United States, and might fuel pressure on the Qatari market,” said Farah Murad, senior market analyst for the Middle East and North Africa division at XTP.
Shares of Qatar National Bank, the largest bank in the Gulf, continued its losses, down 3%, while Masraf Al Rayan fell for the third consecutive session, falling 5.5% on the back of weak profits.
On Sunday, the bank announced a 22% drop in net profit for the full year.
Outside the Gulf region, the Egyptian blue-chip index fell 3.4%, extending losses for the second session in a row, with almost all stocks on the index declining.
Commercial International Bank and e-Finance fell 5.7% and 6.1%, respectively.
