The majority of the stock markets in the Gulf were suppressed at the beginning of the trade on Wednesday due to the drop in oil prices, as investors were awaiting a delayed U.S. jobs report to give insights into the Federal Reserve’s interest rates.
The oil prices, which are a major source of Gulf financial markets, fell due to oversupply issues, but the loss was curbed by U.S. sanctions on major Russian producers. Therefore, Brent crude was trading at $64.53 a barrel by 0810 GMT.
Markets are awaiting the delayed September non-farm payrolls report, now due Thursday, with traders putting about a 42 percent probability of a 25-basis-point Fed rate reduction in December, compared to near-certainty the previous month.
Therefore, the development of U.S. monetary policy is closely tracked in the Gulf region, with the majority of the currencies fixed to the dollar.
The Abu Dhabi benchmark index went down by 0.1 percent, as it was put under strain by a 1 percent decrease in ADNOC Distribution and a 4.1 percent down in Response Plus Holding.
Meanwhile, the two Point Zero Group returned 4.8 percent, and Presight AI Holding returned 1.8 percent.
Seoul reported on Wednesday that South Korea has also signed to collaborate with the UAE on the U.S. Stargate project to construct a massive artificial intelligence data campus in the Gulf nation.
The benchmark stock index of Dubai dropped 0.1 percent, with most constituents recording negative changes. Emaar Properties declined 0.7 percent, while Al Ansari Financial Services fell 1.1 percent.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark stock index decreased 0.1 percent, with most sectors with negative performances. Bank Albilad was down by 1.2 percent, and Dar Al Arkan Real Estate fell by 1.1 percent.
The chief executive of Dar Global, the subsidiary of the developer, told Reuters on Tuesday that it expects to fund most of its new Trump-branded hotel in the Maldives by selling blockchain-based crypto tokens to U.S. retail investors.
ADES Holding is up 1.4 percent following its announcement that the merger with Shelf Drilling would close on November 25. The Qatari benchmark index increased 0.8 percent, backed by broad-based profits. Qatar industries rose by 3 percent, and Qatar National Bank surged by 1.1 percent.
