Major stock markets in the Gulf rose in early trade on Monday as investor sentiment remained upbeat on hopes of a September rate cut in the United States.
The Federal Reserve is expected to kick off a rate-cutting cycle at its monetary policy meeting on Sept. 17-18. Traders currently see a 67% chance of a 25 basis-point (bp) reduction by the U.S central bank this month and a 33% chance of a 50-bp cut, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
Investors await the US ISM manufacturing and services prints, along with the JOLTS job openings, ADP private payrolls and the weekly jobless claims data this week.
The highly-anticipated non-farm payrolls report is due on Friday.
Monetary policy in the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), including Saudi Arabia, is usually guided by the Fed’s decisions, as most regional currencies are pegged to the US dollar.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index edged 0.1% higher, with aluminium products manufacturer Al Taiseer Group rising 0.3%, while oil giant Saudi Aramco was up 0.5%.
Most Gulf markets gain on US rate cut prospects
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and their allies, a group known as OPEC+, is set to proceed with a planned oil output hike from October, six sources from the producer group told Reuters.
Dubai’s main share index gained 0.6%, led by a 2.1% increase in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties and a 1.3% rise in Emirates NBD.
In Abu Dhabi, the index added 0.2%. The Qatari benchmark rose 0.6%, with the Gulf’s biggest lender Qatar National Bank gaining 1%.
Separately, state-owned QatarEnergy will boost its production of urea to more than 12.4 million tons annually from 6 million tons currently, its CEO said in a press conference on Sunday, without giving a timeframe.
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