Mideast: STOCKS-Most Gulf markets fall, Dubai gains

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

20/11/2023 13:40

By Md Manzer Hussain
       Nov 20 (Reuters) - Most stock markets in the Gulf
dropped on Monday as investors remained cautious ahead of the
release of minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest
meeting.
    The Fed is expected to issue minutes of its November meeting
on Tuesday, which will be parsed for clues on the direction of
U.S. interest rates.
    Monetary policy in the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council
(GCC) is usually guided by the decisions of the U.S. Federal
Reserve, as most regional currencies are pegged to the dollar.
    The Qatari index  .QSI  fell 0.6%, snapping three straight
sessions of gains, weighed down by a 1.4% drop in Industries
Qatar  IQCD.QA  and a 1.6% decline in Commercial Bank  COMB.QA .
    The region's largest lender Qatar National Bank  QNBK.QA 
slumped 1.1%.
    Saudi Arabia's benchmark index  .TASI  retreated 0.2%,
ending a four-day winning streak, with oil major Saudi Aramco
 2222.SE  sliding 0.9% and Elm Company  7203.SE  down 1.6%.
    In Abu Dhabi, the benchmark index  .FTFADGI  ended flat,
with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company for Distribution
 ADNOCDIST.AD  rising 1.9% and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank
 ADCB.AD  gaining 1.2%.
    However, the conglomerate Alpha Dhabi  ALPHADHABI.AD  and
Aldar Properties  ALDAR.AD  lost 1.6 and 0.4%, respectively.
    Dubai's benchmark index  .DFMGI  was up for a third
consecutive session, ending 0.2% higher, driven by a 0.7% rise
in developer Emaar Properties  EMAR.DU  and a 1.1% gain in Dubai
Islamic Bank DISB.DU .
    Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index  .EGX30  snapped a
three-session winning streak and closed 0.6% lower, with Talaat
Mostafa Group Holding  TMGH.CA  dropping 3.3% and El Sewedy
Electric Co SWDY.CA  declining 2.9%.

 SAUDI ARABIA     .TASI  fell 0.2% to 11,119
 KUWAIT           .BKP  lost 0.4% to 7,263
 QATAR            .QSI  dropped 0.6% to 10,181
 EGYPT            .EGX30  declined 0.6% to 24,760
 BAHRAIN          .BAX  added 0.1% to 1,945
 OMAN             .MSX30  was down 0.2% to 4,614
 ABU DHABI        .FTFADGI  ended flat at 9,575
 DUBAI            .DFMGI  was up 0.2% to 4,002
 
 (Reporting by Md Manzer Hussain; Editing by Shweta Agarwal)
 ((MdManzer.Hussain@thomsonreuters.com;))