Most stock markets in the Gulf ended lower on Sunday after Friday’s fall in global shares, as the latest US jobs report led investors to dial back expectations for a larger-than-usual interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve this month.
The US Labor Department reported that employment increased less than expected in August while the jobless rate dropped as expected, suggesting an orderly slowdown in the labor market.
Monetary policy in the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), including the UAE, is usually guided by the Fed’s policy decisions because most currencies in the region are pegged to the dollar.
UAE stocks muted as investors eye key US jobs data
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index dropped 1%, weighed down by a 0.8% decrease in aluminium products manufacturer Al Taiseer Group and a 1.9% fall in Al Rajhi Bank.
Elsewhere, oil giant Saudi Aramco retreated 0.9%.
Oil prices – a catalyst for the Gulf’s financial markets – settled 2% lower on Friday, with a big weekly loss following the US jobs data, which outweighed price support from a delay to supply increases by OPEC+ producers.
The Qatari benchmark fell 0.6%.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index slid 2.4%, as most of its constituents were in negative territory including top lender Commercial International Bank, which was down 2.6%.
Egypt’s central bank left its overnight interest rates on hold on Thursday, saying inflation pressures had subsided but that economic growth had softened.
SAUDI ARABIA dropped 1% to 11,982
QATAR lost 0.6% to 10,261
EGYPT down 2.4% to 30,274
BAHRAIN was up 0.7% to 1,950
OMAN rose 0.3% to 4,773
KUWAIT fell 0.3% to 7,790
American Dollar Exchange Rate