Stock Market Update: Gulf Markets Await Central Bank Guidance as Interest Rates and Currencies Take Center Stage

2023-08-23 08:44:46

Major Gulf stock markets were mixed in early trade on Wednesday ahead of an annual meeting of central bankers, with the Qatari index down for a third session.

Markets await guidance on interest rate outlook when Federal Reserve officials and policymakers from the European Central Bank, Bank of England and Bank of Japan travel to Jackson Hole, Wyoming , for an annual meeting later in the week.

Gulf oil and gas exporters tend to track Fed interest rates, as most regional currencies are pegged to the US dollar. Only the Kuwaiti dinar is pegged to a basket of currencies, which includes the dollar.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index gained 0.4%, helped by a 1.3% rise in petrochemicals maker Saudi Basic Industries Corp.

Dubai’s main stock index gained 0.8%, led by a 1.9% rise in developer Emaar Properties and a 1.8% rise in major lender Emirates NBD.

In Abu Dhabi, the index fell 0.1%.

Separately, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, one of the world’s largest, will double its investment in an Australian real estate private lending vehicle, the fund manager said on Tuesday, as traditional lenders grow wary. more from the sector.

The Qatari benchmark fell 0.2%, poised to fall for the third session, with most stocks in the index in negative territory, including petrochemicals maker Industries Qatar, which fell by 2%.

On the other hand, IT services firm Meeza jumped 17.1% in its first trade from its initial public offering of 2.17 riyals ($0.5954).

($1 = 3.6445 Qatari riyals) (Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru Writing by Mark Potter)

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