Mideast Stocks: Most Gulf bourses fall as hawkish Fed hurts mood

The Commercial Bank (P.S.Q.C.)

15/06/2023 14:48

By Md Manzer Hussain
       June 15 (Reuters) - Most stock markets in the Gulf ended
lower on Thursday as hawkish signals on interest rate hikes by
the U.S. Federal Reserve dampened sentiment.
    The Fed left rates unchanged on Wednesday, but indicated
that they could rise by at least half a percentage point this
year.
    Currencies in most Gulf Cooperation Council countries are
pegged to the dollar and any monetary policy change in the U.S.
is usually mimicked by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates
and Qatar.
    Saudi Arabia's benchmark index  .TASI  fell 0.2%, dragged
down by losses in most sectors, with Riyad Bank  1010.SE 
dropping 1.8% and oil major Saudi Aramco  2222.SE  shedding
0.8%.
    Among the losers, Arab National Bank  1080.SE  lost 2.2% and
Saudi Dairy and Foodstuff  2270.SE  slid 5.5%.
    In Qatar, the benchmark  .QSI  fell 0.2%, snapping gains
across two consecutive sessions, with heavyweights Commercial
Bank PSQC  COMB.QA  and Qatar International Islamic Bank
 QIIB.QA  sliding 2.3% and 1.8%, respectively.
    The region's largest lender Qatar National Bank  QNBK.QA 
lost 0.5%. 
    In Abu Dhabi, the index  .FTFADGI  declined 0.1%, snapping
gains made in the previous session, weighed by a 2.3% drop in
ADNOC Gas  ADNOCGAS.AD  and a 1.2% decline in blue-chip
developer Aldar Properties  ALDAR.AD .
    Dubai's benchmark index  .DFMGI  continued a two-week
winning streak and ended 0.5% higher. The index was supported by
gains in industry and financial sectors, with tolls operator
Salik Company  SALIK.DU  adding 1.3% and Emaar Properties
 EMAR.DU  rising 1.8%.
    The Emirate's largest lender Emirates NBD  ENBD.DU  climbed
1.4%.
    "GCC stock markets recorded mixed performances after the
change in the tone of the Federal Reserve, pushing traders
toward caution", said George Pavel, general manager at Capex.com
Middle East.
    Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index  .EGX30  edged up
0.1%, extending a rally across three consecutive sessions,
helped by gains in finance and consumer staples sectors. 
    Eastern Co  EAST.CA  and Credit Agricole Egypt  CIEB.CA 
climbed 3.4% and 6.3%, respectively. Commercial International
Bank Egypt  COMI.CA  added 0.6%.

 SAUDI ARABIA     .TASI  lost 0.2% to 11,516
 KUWAIT           .BKP  added 0.5% to 7,779
 QATAR            .QSI  fell 0.2% at 10,271
 EGYPT            .EGX30  added 0.1% to 17,882
 BAHRAIN          .BAX  lost 0.1% to 1,956
 OMAN             .MSX30  fell 0.1 to 4,681
 ABU DHABI        .FTFADGI  fell 0.1% to 9,385
 DUBAI            .DFMGI  rose 0.5% at 3,734
 
 (Reporting by Md Manzer Hussain; Editing by Sonia Cheema)
 ((MdManzer.Hussain@thomsonreuters.com;))