Gulf stock markets surge in early trade on rate cut bets

Gulf stock markets rose at early trade of Thursday on optimism about potential US interest rate cuts, despite uncertainty about the timing, Reuters reported.

Lower growth in the US services industry and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s comments on rate cuts boosted the investors’ sentiment.

Most Gulf currencies are pegged to the dollar, so changes in US monetary policy often impact Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar.

In Qatar, the benchmark index advanced 0.9 per cent, with Qatar Islamic Bank climbing 1.2 per cent and Qatar National Bank rising 1.7 per cent.

Saudi Arabia’s index was up 0.3 per cent, led by gains in materials and IT stocks.

Saudi Basic Industries gained 2.3 per cent and Sahara International Petrochemical climbed 4.3 per cent, while Saudi Telecom and Elm Company added one per cent and 1.7 per cent, respectively.

Dubai’s index rose 0.4 per cent, with Salik Company adding 2.2 per cent and Mashreqbank surging 7.6 per cent.

In Abu Dhabi, the index edged up 0.1 per cent, supported by gains in Alpha Dhabi Holding and Presight AI Holdings.