Most stock markets in the Gulf ended higher on Wednesday, as comments from U.S. Federal Reserve officials boosted expectations of a September interest rate cut.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said recent cooling in inflation data “add somewhat to confidence” that consumer prices are coming under control.
Markets have now fully priced in a quarter-point rate cut from the U.S. central bank in September, with a total easing of 68 basis points (bps) expected by the end of the year.
Monetary policy in the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is usually guided by the Fed’s decisions as most regional currencies are pegged to the U.S. dollar.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index gained 0.6%, led by a 5.6% rise in aluminium products manufacturer Al Taiseer Group and a 2.5% increase in ACWA Power Co.
The kingdom’s crude oil exports rose in May, after slipping in April from a nine-month high hit in March, data from the Joint Organizations Data Initiative showed on Wednesday.
Gulf bourses end mixed on US rate cut hopes, falling oil
Dubai’s main share index closed 0.5% higher, with blue-chip developer Emaar Properties advancing 1.4% and top lender Emirates NBD up 1.2%.
In Abu Dhabi, the index edged 0.1% higher.
The Qatari benchmark dropped 0.4%, weighed down by a 1.7% decline in Qatar Islamic Bank despite reporting a rise in first-half net profit.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index advanced 1.8%, as most of its constituents were in positive territory, including tobacco monopoly Easter Company which was up 6.2%.
Egypt’s total budget deficit fell to 505 billion Egyptian pounds ($10.5 billion) in fiscal 2023/24 that ended on June 30, compared with 610 billion pounds a year earlier, finance minister Ahmed Kouchouk said in a statement on Wednesday.
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