Stock markets in the Gulf ended subdued on Wednesday in the run up to quarterly earning season as oil prices declined, although growing bets of imminent U.S. rate cuts improved sentiment.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index closed flat, following four sessions of gains.
The Saudi bourse market experienced limited movements today, remaining relatively flat as the market continues its uncertain trajectory within a price range, said Joseph Dahrieh, Managing Principal at Tickmill.
Saudi Aramco has begun a three-part bond sale, news service IFR reported on Wednesday, which could raise at least $3 billion, a source with knowledge of the matter previously told Reuters.
Shares of the oil giant Aramco were down 0.2%.
Dubai’s main share index gained 0.1%, helped by a 1.3% rise in Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corp.
Gulf markets end mixed ahead of Fed chair’s testimony
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in remarks to Congress that the U.S. is “no longer an overheated economy” with a job market that has cooled from its pandemic-era extremes and is, in many ways, back where it was before the health crisis, suggesting that the case for interest rate cuts is becoming stronger.
In Abu Dhabi, the index closed flat.
According to Dahrieh, some uncertainty has persisted in Abu Dhabi over the last three sessions, influenced by a decline in oil market prices, limiting the possibility of a rebound in the Saudi market.
Crude prices – a catalyst for the Gulf’s financial markets – steadied as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) kept its growth forecast for oil demand unchanged for this year and next. Meanwhile, U.S. crude and gasoline inventories likely fell last week.
Brent futures were down 11 cents, or 0.1%, at $84.55 a barrel at 1212 GMT, after falling 1.3% in the previous session.
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