Mideast Stocks: Most Gulf markets track oil prices lower; Egypt jumps

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

22/08/2023 14:46

By Ateeq Shariff
       Aug 22 (Reuters) - Most stock markets in the Gulf ended
lower on Tuesday on falling oil prices, while the approaching
Jackson Hole Symposium also weighed on investor sentiment.
    Oil prices - which fuels the Gulf economy - were little
changed as investors remained downbeat on China's economic
malaise hobbling demand from the world's top crude importer,
limiting the impact of supply cuts.
    Saudi Arabia's benchmark index  .TASI  dropped 0.3%,
extending losses from the previous session, with Dr Sulaiman
Al-Habib Medical Services  4013.SE  losing 1%, while oil giant
Saudi Aramco  2222.SE  was down 0.2%.
    In Abu Dhabi, the index  .FTFADGI  eased 0.1%.
    The Qatari benchmark  .QSI  gave up early gains to finish
0.1% lower, weighed down by a 1% fall in Commercial Bank
 COMB.QA  and a 0.3% decrease in petrochemical maker Industries
Qatar  IQCD.QA .
    Dubai's main share index  .DFMGI  gained 0.4%, helped by a
1.4% gain in sharia-compliant lender Dubai Islamic Bank
 DISB.DU . 
    The Dubai stock market remained stable with traders being
cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve's event this week. Traders
could monitor speeches from the Fed's governors for clues on
monetary policy, said Ahmed Negm, Head of Market Research MENA
at XS.com.
    Oil and gas exporting countries in the Gulf tend to follow
the Fed's rate move, as most regional currencies are pegged to
the U.S. dollar. Only the Kuwaiti dinar is pegged to a basket of
currencies, which includes the dollar.
    Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index  .EGX30  advanced
1.7%, as most of the stocks on the index were in positive
territory including tobacco monopoly Easter Company  EAST.CA ,
which jumped 8.5% after receiving several offers from foreign
investors to buy up to 15.3% of the shares.
    Egypt promised the International Monetary Fund it would roll
back the state's involvement in the economy and allow private
companies a much greater role as part of a $3 billion, 46-month
financial support package signed in December.
    Egypt's petroleum ministry on Tuesday announced a new oil
discovery in the Geisum and Tawila West Concession in the Gulf
of Suez.
   
    
 SAUDI ARABIA   .TASI  fell 0.3% to 11,378
 ABU DHABI      .FTFADGI  lost 0.1% to 9,766
 DUBAI          .DFMGI  rose 0.4% to 4,069
 QATAR          .QSI  eased 0.1% to 10,455
 EGYPT          .EGX30  leapt 1.7% to 18,217
 BAHRAIN        .BAX  was up 0.1% to 1,964
 OMAN           .MSX30  down 0.1% to 4,773
 KUWAIT         .BKP  added 0.2% to 7,717
 
 (Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru; editing by David
Evans)
 ((AteeqUr.Shariff@thomsonreuters.com; +918061822788;))