Most Gulf markets in red as Wall Street rally stalls; #Qatar gains | Reuters

Most Gulf markets in red as Wall Street rally stalls; Qatar gains | Reuters

Most stock markets in the Gulf ended lower on Thursday after Wall Street snapped a long winning streak that had been driven by rate-cut expectations and the U.S. Federal Reserve's dovish tilt.

U.S. stocks closed lower on Wednesday after an abrupt mid-afternoon nosedive ended Wall Street's impressive rally.

Most Gulf Cooperation Council countries, including the UAE, have their currencies pegged to the U.S. dollar and follow the Fed's policy moves closely, exposing the region to the direct impact of monetary tightening in the world's largest economy.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI) dropped 0.7%, weighed down by a 3.1% decline in auto rental firm Lumi (4262.SE) and a 0.3% decrease in oil behemoth Saudi Aramco (2222.SE).

However, the Saudi index posted a fourth weekly gain, adding 0.7%.

Dubai's main share index (.DFMGI) fell 0.2%, hit by a 1.7% fall in top lender Emirates NBD (ENBD.DU).

The Dubai stock market continued to see some downside risks and some resistance near the top of its trading range for the last few weeks, said Hani Abuagla, senior market analyst at XTB MENA.

"Geopolitical tensions in the region and changing expectations regarding monetary policy could affect the market’s performance over the coming trading sessions."

Fighting in the Gaza Strip escalated on Thursday, with what residents described as some of the most intense Israeli bombardment of the war, even as the two sides held what Washington called "very serious discussions" on a new truce.

The Qatari benchmark (.QSI) added 0.8%, led by a 1.7% increase in Qatar Islamic Bank (QISB.QA).

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index (.EGX30) declined 2.1%, as most of the stocks on the index were in positive territory, including Commercial International Bank (COMI.CA), which was up 2.3%.

#UAE central bank expects oil GDP to grow by 8.1% in 2024, non-oil growth to slow to 4.7% - WAM | Reuters

UAE central bank expects oil GDP to grow by 8.1% in 2024, non-oil growth to slow to 4.7% - WAM | Reuters

The United Arab Emirates central bank said it expects the country's oil GDP to grow by 8.1% in 2024, with non-oil GDP to grow by 4.7% in 2024 compared to 5.9% in 2023, state news agency WAM reported on Thursday.

The central bank sees the country's GDP to grow by 3.1% in 2023 compared to 5.7% in 2024.

#Saudi Unicorn Tabby Gets $700 Million Credit Line From JPMorgan - Bloomberg

Saudi Unicorn Tabby Gets $700 Million Credit Line From JPMorgan - Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia-based Tabby, one of the Middle East’s first fintech unicorns, bolstered its balance sheet with an asset-backed credit line of as much as $700 million from JPMorgan Chase & Co., before a planned listing in the kingdom.

The buy-now-pay-later firm also increased a recent funding round to $250 million after adding Saudi Arabia’s Hassana Investment Co. as an investor. It was also joined by US-based Soros Capital Management and Saudi Venture Capital.

That round had valued the company at more than $1.5 billion, drawing in investors such as STV, Mubadala Investment Capital and PayPal Ventures.

The debt facility will help the firm keep up with growing demand, “and mirrors the rapid growth and evolution of the fintech landscape in our markets,” Tabby said in a statement.

In a recent interview, Chief Executive Officer Hosam Arab said revenue had grown threefold over the past year. “Therefore it was quite important for us to secure sources of capital that can scale as this business continues to scale,” he said.

Tabby, which was founded in Dubai, set up its headquarters in the kingdom before its plans to go public on the Saudi stock exchange, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment said in September.

Mideast IPO Boom to Stretch Into 2024 as Investor Appetite Grows - Bloomberg

Mideast IPO Boom to Stretch Into 2024 as Investor Appetite Grows - Bloomberg

It’s been another dismal year for initial public offerings globally, but the Middle East has shone as a hive of listing activity which is expected to stretch into 2024.

Over the past two years, the energy-rich region has emerged as a busy IPO market, as governments intent on weaning their economies off reliance on oil have sold stakes in state-owned firms while crude prices have been high. Russia’s exclusion from the MSCI Emerging Markets index after its invasion of Ukraine last year, and China’s slowdown in economic growth, have prompted investors to look at the Persian Gulf.

While listings in the region have raised less than half the amount they did last year, at $10.5 billion it’s still set to be the third-best year since 2007 for IPO proceeds, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The Gulf accounts for about 45% of total IPO volumes in Europe, the Middle East and Africa this year, compared with 51% in 2022.

Bankers aren’t expecting the IPO flow in the Middle East and North Africa to slow anytime soon, as the tailwinds of strong growth, government reforms and investor demand remain.

“The outlook is very strong for MENA IPOs in 2024,” said Christian Cabanne, Bank of America Corp.’s head of equity capital markets in Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. “Maybe the difference between 2023 and 2024 is that in 2024 we expect to see more private companies come to market, including in the United Arab Emirates.”

Covestro in 'open-ended' talks with ADNOC -spokesperson | Reuters

Covestro in 'open-ended' talks with ADNOC -spokesperson | Reuters

Covestro is in open-ended talks with Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC), a spokesperson for the German plastics and chemicals maker said on Thursday, following a report that the oil giant is preparing to up its takeover bid for the company.

"We are in open-ended discussions with ADNOC. Open-ended refers to both the content and the timeframe," the spokesperson said.

The statement follows ADNOC submitting a preliminary offer of around 60 euros per share for Covestro AG, which would boost it non-binding bid to about 11.3 billion euros ($12.37 billion), people with knowledge of the situation said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The non-binding offer includes job guarantees and 8 billion euros of investments, one of the people said.

Bloomberg first reported the news of ADNOC having submitted a preliminary bid of about 60 euros per share.

Major Gulf markets retreat after Wall Street rally stalls | Reuters

Major Gulf markets retreat after Wall Street rally stalls | Reuters

Major stock markets in the Gulf fell in early trade on Thursday after Wall Street snapped a long winning streak that had been driven by rate-cut expectations and the Federal Reserve's dovish tilt.

Most Gulf Cooperation Council countries, including the UAE, have their currencies pegged to the U.S. dollar and follow the Fed's policy moves closely, exposing the region to the direct impact of monetary tightening in the world's largest economy.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark stock index (.TASI) dropped 0.8%, dragged down by a 2.4% fall in auto rental firm Lumi (4262.SE) and a 0.6% decline in oil behemoth Saudi Aramco (2222.SE).

Oil prices - a catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets -fell and were on track to snap a three-day winning streak, as concerns over low demand following a surprise U.S. crude inventory build outweighed jitters over global trade disruptions due to tensions in the Middle East.

Dubai's main share index (.FTFADGI) eased 0.2%, with Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU) down 0.9%.

In Abu Dhabi, the benchmark stock index (.FTFADGI) fell 0.2%.

The Qatari benchmark (.QSI) fell 0.3%, with petrochemical maker Industries Qatar (IQCD.QA) losing 0.8% and telecoms firm Ooredoo (ORDS.QA) down 1.3%.