The decline in global oil prices, and expectations of raising US interest rates, lead to a decline in most stock exchanges in the Gulf countries, since oil prices are the main catalyst for the Gulf financial markets.
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Most of the Gulf stock markets closed the day with varying declines
Most of the Gulf stock markets closed lower today, Tuesday, as a result of the drop in global oil prices and expectations of the US central bank raising interest rates.
Oil prices fell by more than 1%, which is the main catalyst for the Gulf financial markets. Brent crude futures for March delivery fell 1.25% to $83.97 a barrel, by 14:14 GMT.
Investors expect the US central bank to raise interest rates by 25 basis points, tomorrow, Wednesday, which will lead to a decline in investor sentiment.
The economies of most of the Gulf countries and their currencies were linked to the US dollar, and Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar usually follow the example of the United States in its monetary policy, which leads to a direct impact on the Gulf financial markets by the US measures.
The Saudi index fell 0.2%, extending its losses for the second session, affected by a 1.8% decline in the share of the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation “SABIC”, and a 0.2% decline in the share of Retal Urban Development Company.
The Qatari index fell 1.7%, with most of the stocks listed on the index falling.
Shares of Qatar National Bank, the largest bank in the Gulf, continued its losses, down by 3%, while Masraf Al Rayan’s share fell for the third consecutive session, falling 5.5%, on the back of a 22% drop in profits announced by the bank for the past year.
The Dubai index fell slightly, affected by losses in the stocks of financial and real estate companies with weight on the index, as Dubai Islamic Bank fell by 3%, and Emaar Properties by 0.7%.
However, the Abu Dhabi index rose 0.1%, supported by an increase of 5.7% in Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, which recorded its highest rise since last July.
Outside the Gulf region, the Egyptian blue-chip index fell 3.4%, extending its losses for the second session in a row, with almost all stocks declining on the index.
The shares of the Commercial International Bank fell by 5.7%, and “e-Finance for Financial and Digital Investments” by 6.1%, respectively.