Mideast Stocks: Major Gulf markets drop on falling oil prices

Mideast Stocks: Major Gulf markets drop on falling oil prices

SAUDI ARABIA fell 0.3% to 11,100 

KUWAIT added 0.1% to 7,302 

QATAR lost 0.03% to 10,223 

EGYPT was up 1% to 25,030 

BAHRAIN added 0.1% to 1,948 

OMAN Closed 

ABU DHABI dropped 0.1% to 9,533 

DUBAI gained 0.3% to 3,997

Major stock markets in the Gulf closed lower on Wednesday amid falling oil prices, as investors remained cautious ahead of Sunday's scheduled OPEC+ meeting.

Oil prices - a catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets - declined 2.7% as traders awaited news from the OPEC+ producers group which is likely to extend or even deepen oil supply cuts into next year. Brent was trading at $80.22 a barrel by 1300 GMT.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index fell 0.3%, weighed down by a 2.2% slide in the Kingdom's largest lender Saudi National Bank and a 2.9% decline in Almunajem Foods.

In Abu Dhabi, the benchmark index was down for a second consecutive session, ending 0.1% lower, with Q Holding dropping 2.1% and UAE's largest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank declining by 1.3%.

The Qatari index fell marginally as the gains in most sectors limited losses in finance and consumer staples sectors. Industries Qatar added 0.5% and Qatar Electricity and Water gained 0.9%, while Qatar International Islamic Bank and Baladna shed 1.7% and 1.8%, respectively.

Dubai's benchmark index was up 0.3%, ending the previous session's losses, aided by a 1% gain in tolls operator Salik and a 1.9% rise in Tecom Group.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index extended its rally to a second session and ended 1% higher with most sectors in the green. Commercial International Bank gained 1.3% and Talaat Mostafa Group Holding Co surged 4.2%.

Oil tumbles nearly 4% as OPEC+ meeting delayed | Reuters

Oil tumbles nearly 4% as OPEC+ meeting delayed | Reuters

Oil prices tanked nearly 4% on Wednesday as OPEC+ producers delayed a meeting on output planned for Sunday, raising questions about the future course of crude production cuts.

Brent crude futures was down $3.05, or 3.7%, to $79.40 a barrel by 1313 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down $2.97, or 3.82%, to $74.80.

OPEC+ delayed its ministerial meeting to Nov. 30 from Nov. 26 as previously scheduled, OPEC said in a statement, without giving a reason for the postponement.

Earlier on Wednesday, Bloomberg News reported that the OPEC+ meeting could be delayed for an unspecified period of time after Saudi Arabia expressed its dissatisfaction with other members about their output numbers.

Analysts had predicted before the delay that OPEC+ was likely to extend or even deepen oil supply cuts into next year.

Both Brent and WTI oil benchmarks have fallen for four straight weeks.

#AbuDhabi's Mubadala to Anchor Private Credit Fund for European Property - Bloomberg

Abu Dhabi's Mubadala to Anchor Private Credit Fund for European Property - Bloomberg

Mubadala Investment Co. said it will be an anchor investor in a new special situations fund set up by Starz Real Estate, as deep-pocketed Middle Eastern investors play an increasingly pivotal role in private credit.

The Starz Orion Capital fund will target real estate lending and investment opportunities across Europe for refurbishment and redevelopment, according to a statement on Wednesday. It will also support the acquisition of distressed debt and non-performing loans and acquisition of real estate securities.

Starz Real Estate didn’t say how much Mubadala is investing, but said it expects to raise a further 300 million euros ($327 million). In 2021, Mubadala — which manages $276 billion of assets — provided the anchor investment for the Starz Zenith Capital Ltd. fund.

Mubadala’s commitment reflects continued increase in “exposure to alternative investments, including in private credit, to achieve stable financial returns,” Khadija Benzit, head of European real estate investments at Mubadala. “With the current market environment, private credit is playing a bigger role in supporting real estate players.”

#UAE minister hopes country will come out of the FATF Grey List early next year

UAE minister hopes country will come out of the FATF Grey List early next year

Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, the UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Trade and chairman of the Emirates Bullion Committee, hopes that the country will come out of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Grey List early next year, which will help attract more precious metal companies.

While delivering a special address at the Dubai Precious Metals Conference on Tuesday, Al Zeyoudi said a FATF team will visit the country later this year for the evaluation.

“We are doing an excellent job on FATF. We are almost done. We are just waiting for the visit before the end of the year. Hopefully, we will be removed from the grey list. So we are looking forward to more industry people and corporations and companies to come and operate and work from the UAE,” the minister said during the speech.

The UAE was added to the Grey List in March 2022 and since then it has taken numerous measures to enhance the AML/CTF regulatory regime.

FATF’s Grey List, also known as jurisdiction under increased monitoring list, includes countries that are actively working with the Paris-based body to address strategic deficiencies in their regimes to counter money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing.

Major Gulf markets track Asian shares lower | Reuters

Major Gulf markets track Asian shares lower | Reuters

Major stock markets in the Gulf fell in early trade on Wednesday, tracking Asian shares lower as investors' tempered some of their earlier enthusiasm about the prospect of an end to U.S. interest rate hikes.

U.S. Federal Reserve officials agreed at their last policy meeting that they would proceed "carefully" and only raise interest rates if progress in controlling inflation faltered, the minutes of the Oct. 31-Nov. 1 gathering showed on Tuesday.

Monetary policy in the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is usually guided by the decisions of the U.S. Federal Reserve as most regional currencies are pegged to the dollar.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI) dropped 0.1%, with the country's biggest lender Saudi National Bank (1180.SE) losing 1.2%.

Separately, Saudi Arabian state-owned media giant MBC Group's planned initial public offering (IPO) was approved by the kingdom's Capital Market Authority (CMA) on Tuesday.

Dubai's main share index (.DFMGI) eased 0.1%, with Al Ansari Financial Services (ALANSARI.DU) declining 1.8%.

In Abu Dhabi, the index (.FTFADGI) retreated 0.3%.

The United Arab Emirates will hopefully be removed from a so-called "grey list" of countries under special scrutiny by the international FATF financial crime watchdog early next year, state minister for trade, Thani Al Zeyoudi, said on Tuesday.

The Qatari index (.QSI) lost 0.3%, weighed by a 0.7% drop in the Gulf's biggest lender, Qatar National Bank (QNBK.QA).