Gulf stock markets had a mixed day on Sunday due to rising oil prices and dwindling expectations that the US Federal Reserve will quickly drop interest rates following a string of inflation reports.
The financial markets in the Gulf are largely driven by the price of oil, which saw a higher closing price on Friday due to Middle East concerns.
After losing two sessions in a row, the Qatari benchmark index closed the day 0.3% higher, with gains across all sectors.
Industries Qatar increased 0.3%, while Masraf Al Rayan and Qatar Islamic Bank gained 0.9% and 0.7%, respectively.
Nearly every sector saw losses as Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index fell 0.2% for the fifth straight session. In the stock market, Middle East Pharmaceutical Industries dropped 2.1% while ACWA Power plummeted 5.7%.
In contrast, Arab National Bank had a 1.9% increase in trading after revealing a 15.7% increase in quarterly net profit.
Although monthly inflation in the United States increased somewhat in March, persistently high housing and utility costs signaled the Federal Reserve would maintain high interest rates for some time.
Since the majority of Gulf currencies are dollar-denominated, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar typically follow any changes in US monetary policy.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index fell 4.9% to 24,640, its lowest level in four months, as it continued to fall for a fourth straight session.
Egypt Kuwait Holding and Talaat Mostafa Group fell 6.9% and 9.7%, respectively, and Commercial International Bank fell 4.8%.
Egypt, meanwhile, has promised to improve its use of off-budget public sector spending and overdraft facilities provided by the central bank, which have put pressure on the currency and exchange rate, the IMF said on Friday.
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