Most Gulf markets rebound as Fed calms investor nerves

06 Aug, 2024

Most stock markets in the Gulf rebounded on Tuesday as comments from the Federal Reserve officials soothed investor nerves, following the previous session’s global sell-off on fears of a possible U.S. recession.

San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly on Monday said it is too soon to know if the July jobs report signals a slowdown or real weakness, but it is “extremely important” for the central bank to prevent the labour market from tipping into a downturn.

Market expectations that the Fed would cut interest rates by 50 basis points at its September meeting remained intact, with futures implying a 71% chance of such an outsized move.

The market has around 100 basis points of easing priced in for this year, and a similar amount for 2025.

Monetary policy in the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is usually guided by the Fed’s decisions as most regional currencies are pegged to the U.S. dollar.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index advanced 2.1%, with aluminium products manufacturer Al Taiseer Group jumping 7.1%.

Gulf markets slide on US recession fears, regional tensions

Among other gainers, Saudi Aramco rose 2.2%, after reporting a second-quarter net profit of 109.01 billion riyals ($29.04 billion), beating a company-provided median estimate from 15 analysts of $27.7 billion.

Dubai’s main share index jumped 2.4%, clawing-back some of its losses from Monday when it fell more than 4%. Blue-chip developer Emaar Properties advancing 4.9%.

In Abu Dhabi, the index was up 1.4%.

The Qatari benchmark, however, slipped 0.5%, with the Gulf’s biggest lender Qatar National Bank losing 1.4%.

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