Most Gulf stock markets closed lower on Tuesday, as falling oil prices and expectations of an interest rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve subdued investor sentiment, while Abu Dhabi bucked trend.
Oil prices – a key catalyst for the Gulf’s financial markets – slipped by more than 1% on Tuesday with March Brent crude futures 1.25% lower at $83.97 a barrel by 1414 GMT.
Investors expect the Federal Reserve will raise rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday, and any deviation from that script would be a real shock.
Most Gulf currencies are pegged to the U.S. dollar, and Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar usually mirror U.S. monetary policy changes.
The benchmark index (.TASI) in Saudi Arabia lost 0.2%, extending losses into a second session. The index was weighed down by a 1.8% loss in Saudi Basic Industries (2010.SE) and a 0.2% fall in luxury real estate developer Retal Urban Development (4322.SE).
This report’s information was first seen on REUTERS; to read more, click this link.
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