Mideast Stocks: Gulf bourses drop amid hawkish Fed tone, Mideast conflict

Eastern

22/10/2023 14:01

By Md Manzer Hussain
       Oct 22 (Reuters) - Stock markets in the Gulf fell on
Sunday amid warnings of possible further interest rate hikes
from the U.S Federal Reserve, and worries of escalation in the
Middle East conflict.
    Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said on Friday the U.S. economy's
strength and continued tight labor markets could require still
tougher borrowing conditions to control inflation.
    Monetary policy in the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council
(GCC) is usually guided by Fed policy decisions because most
regional currencies are pegged to the U.S. dollar.
    Saudi Arabia's benchmark index  .TASI  was down for a third
consecutive session, ending 1.5% lower, with all sectors in the
red.
    Elm Company  7203.SE  dropped 2.3%, while Al Rajhi Bank
 1120.SE , the world's largest Islamic bank by assets, slipped
2.1%.
    The Qatari index  .QSI  fell for a fifth straight session,
ending 0.9% lower, with Industries Qatar  IQCD.QA  dropping 2.2%
and Qatar Navigation  QNNC.QA  sliding 3%.
    The region's largest lender Qatar National Bank  QNBK.QA 
dropped 2.1%.
    Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index  .EGX30  climbed
2.3%, with almost all stocks in positive territory, including
Eastern Co  EAST.CA  and Talaat Mostafa Group  TMGH.CA  which
surged 6.9% and 8.1% respectively.
    Meanwhile, concerns about the risk of the Israel-Hamas war
mushrooming into a wider Middle East conflict rose on Sunday,
with the U.S. sending more military assets to the region as
Israel pummeled Gaza overnight and also hit targets in Lebanon
and Syria.
 SAUDI ARABIA   .TASI  dropped 1.5% to 10,496
 QATAR          .QSI  lost 0.9% to 97,18
 EGYPT          .EGX30  rose 2.3% to 22,128
 BAHRAIN        .BAX  ended flat at 1,944
 OMAN           .MSX30  fell 0.9% to 4,640
 KUWAIT         .BKP  lost 0.6% to 7,334
 
 (Reporting by Md Manzer Hussain; Editing by David Holmes)
 ((MdManzer.Hussain@thomsonreuters.com))