MIDEAST STOCKS-Fed jitters dampen most of Gulf; rate cut boosts Egypt | Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Fed jitters dampen most of Gulf; rate cut boosts Egypt | Reuters:

"* Reduction in Fed stimulus possible as soon as October

* Some funds selling ahead of Q3-end

* IPO speculation weighs on Qatar

* Dubai bucks downtrend but near major chart barrier

* Most foreigners still staying out of Egypt rally

By Nadia Saleem

DUBAI, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Renewed worries about the possibility of U.S. monetary tightening caused most Gulf stock markets to drop on Sunday, while Egypt rose on the back of an interest rate cut by its central bank.

Like other markets around the world, Gulf bourses rose last week in response to the U.S. Federal Reserve's surprise decision to maintain its monetary stimulus. But on Friday, St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard said in an interview on Bloomberg TV that a start to winding down the stimulus was possible in October, depending on economic data.

So the euphoria surrounding last week's Fed decision is fading quickly. Although the booming Gulf is less vulnerable than most regions to tighter U.S. monetary policy, its markets are near multi-year peaks that were hit in August, leaving them vulnerable to profit-taking."

'via Blog this'