Most stock markets in the Gulf closed higher on Thursday, led by the Saudi index, joining a global rally as investors cheered the U.S. Federal Reserve’s indication that it will still deliver three rate cuts this year.

The Fed kept borrowing costs unchanged on Wednesday and signaled they still expect to ease interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point by the end of 2024.

Most Gulf currencies are pegged to the dollar and any monetary policy change in the United States is usually mimicked by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index advanced 0.8% after previous session of losses, lifted by gains in finance and communications services sectors.

Al Rajhi Bank, the world’s largest Islamic lender, soared 4.5%, the highest intraday rise in nearly three years, while the kingdom’s largest lender, Saudi National Bank, climbed 2.2%.

In Abu Dhabi, the benchmark index was up for a fourth straight session and ended 0.2% higher, supported by a 1.1% rise in Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, and a 1.6% gain in Aldar Properties.

Dubai’s Parkin shares jump more than 30% in bourse debut

The Qatari benchmark index edged up 0.1% after a second consecutive session of losses, with most sectors in the green.

Ooredoo gained 1.3% and the region’s largest lender, Qatar National Bank, added 0.3%.

Dubai’s benchmark index fell 0.3%, dragged down by losses in real estate, utilities, finance and communication services sectors.

Emirates NBD, the emirate’s largest lender, dropped 1.1% and blue-chip developer Emaar Properties slipped 0.5%.

However, Parkin, which oversees public parking operations in the emirates, surged 35% on its first day of trading, closing at 2.84 dirham against IPO price of 2.1 dirhams.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index rose 1.6%. ending four sessions of losses. E-Finance surged 9.5% and Fawry for Banking Technology climbed 7.9%.

======================================== SAUDI ARABIA     rose 0.8% to 12,836 KUWAIT           was up 0.5% to 8,117 QATAR            gained 0.1% to 10,211 EGYPT            rose 1.6% to 29,055 BAHRAIN          added 0.1% to 2,051 OMAN             fell 0.4% to 4,791 ABU DHABI        up 0.1% to 9,286 DUBAI            lost 0.3% to 4,278========================================