Mideast Stocks: Gulf markets drop as oil prices slip in volatile session

Mideast Stocks: Gulf markets drop as oil prices slip in volatile session

Gulf stock markets ended weaker on Tuesday, tracking subdued oil prices and global peers lower, as investors feared that the U.S. Federal Reserve would get more aggressive with interest rate hikes to tame inflation. Traders are also awaiting minutes of the latest U.S. Fed meeting, due on Wednesday, after recent data on core inflation raised the risk of interest rates remaining higher 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.

The benchmark index in Saudi Arabia dropped 1%, extending its losses to a fourth session. The index was pulled down by a 1.9% loss in luxury real estate developer Retal Urban Development and a 2.1% drop in Dr Sulaiman Al-habib Medical Services.

Oil prices - a key catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets - eased in a volatile session as concerns about a demand-denting global economic slowdown outweighed support from supply curbs, and prompted investors to lock in profit following previous session's gains.

In Abu Dhabi, the index fell 0.3%, weighed down by a 2% loss in Abu Dhabi National Energy and 1.5% drop in real estate developer Aldar Properties. The conglomerate Alpha Dhabi and the United Arab Emirates's biggest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank dropped 1.4% and 0.7% respectively.

Dubai's benchmark index dropped 0.1%, dragged down by losses in almost all sectors with Emaar Properties declining 1.6% and Dubai Islamic Bank falling 0.7%.

Qatari Stock Index eased 0.2%, snapping a four-session winning streak. Islamic bank Dukhan Bank dropped 31.2% after it started trading on Tuesday with opening price of 4 Qatari riyals and closing at 2.992 Qatari riyals.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index closed 1.3% higher, snapping a three-session loss, with most of its constituent stocks in positive territory. The index was helped by a 1.4% gain in Commercial International Bank and a jump of 6.2% in Egypt's petrochemical producer and distributor Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals.