Mideast Stocks: Gulf bourses end lower as oil prices drop ahead of Fed minutes

Mideast Stocks: Gulf bourses end lower as oil prices drop ahead of Fed minutes

Gulf stock markets closed lower on Wednesday as oil prices fell and caution prevailed among investors ahead of the release of minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest meeting.

Oil prices - a key catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets - eased on Wednesday with Brent crude losing 0.66% at $82.50 per barrel by 1230 GMT. The Fed's minutes due at 1900 GMT will come at a time when hawkish rhetoric from policymakers and signs of economic resilience have spurred worries that major central banks could keep raising interest rates for longer.

Most Gulf currencies are pegged to the U.S. dollar, while Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar usually mirror U.S. monetary policy changes.

In Abu Dhabi, its benchmark index fell 0.6%, extending its losses to a third session. The index was pulled down by a 3% drop in fertilizer maker Fertiglobe and a 4.4% slide in Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, the worst intraday decline since June.

Dubai's benchmark index dropped 0.9%, dragged down by losses in almost all sectors, with Emaar Properties declining 2.3% and tolls operator Salik falling 2.6%. The Qatari Stock index eased 0.3%, extending its losses to a second session.

The index was dragged down by losses in most sectors with the Gulf region's largest lender, Qatar National Bank, dropping 1.7%. Shares of Qatar Insurance dropped 10% to 1.5 riyal, hitting a more than 13-year low and falling to their steepest intraday decline since February 2020. The Gulf's biggest insurer reported a full-year consolidated net loss of 637 million riyals, compared to a profit of 630 million riyals a year earlier.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index dropped 1.5%, with almost all of its constituent stocks in the red. The index was weighed down by a 1.3% loss in Commercial International Bank and a slide of 2.5% in electronic payments firm Fawry. Among the losers, El Sewedy Electric and Talaat Mostafa Group declined 3.8% and 2.5% respectively.

"The Egyptian stock market remained exposed to new losses as traders moved to secure their gains," said Ahmed Negm, head of market research MENA at XS.com.