Posted March 24 – Sunday saw Gulf stock markets demonstrating minimal fluctuations, with a small dip in the Saudi index due to softening oil prices tempering earlier optimism derived from dovish signals from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The financial pulse of the Gulf, oil prices, took a hit this Friday owing to a potential ceasefire in Gaza, the strengthening dollar, and a decrease in U.S. gasoline demand. The Qatari benchmark index (.QSI) witnessed negligible rise due to the balance struck between gains in sectors like communication services, materials, consumer staples, and energy sectors, and losses in finance, industry and real estate.
Qatar Gas Transport (QGTS.QA) and Ooredoo (ORDS.QA) recorded upticks of 0.7% and 1.1% respectively, whereas two significant players, the region’s largest lender – Qatar National Bank(QNBK.QA), and Industries Qatar (IQCD.QA), ended the day down by 0.3%.
On the other hand, Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index (.TASI) backtracked by 0.3% following sessions of gain, painting a majority of sectors red. ACWA Power (2082.SE) lost 1.7% and the king-sized lender of the kingdom, Saudi National Bank(1180.SE), decreased by 0.9%.
Among other depreciators, ADES Holding (2382.SE) and Savola Group (2050.SE) fell by 2.4% and 2.5% respectively. Earlier this week, the Fed decided to hold rates steady but hinted at three rate cuts this year, lifting spirits across global markets.
Most Gulf currencies are pegged to the dollar, and it isn’t uncommon for Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar to follow U.S. monetary policies. Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s flagship index (.EGX30) mirrored the static movement with a slight fluctuation due to the interplay between gains in materials, consumer staples, finance, and communication sectors and losses in healthcare, industries and real estate.
E-Finance (EFIH.CA) and Fawry for Banking Technology (FWRY.CA) soared by 10.3% and 7.2% respectively, while Talaat Mostafa (TMGH.CA) fell by 4.2% and El Sewedy Electric (SWDY.CA) tumbled by 4.6%.
Credited to Md Manzer Hussain
Edited by Tomasz Janowski.
