Gulf markets end mixed ahead of Fed chair's testimony | Reuters

Gulf markets end mixed ahead of Fed chair's testimony | Reuters

Stock markets in the Gulf ended mixed on Tuesday as investors awaited U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's testimony to Congress for clues on potential interest rate cuts.

Powell is set to appear on Tuesday and Wednesday, with investors seeing an 80% chance of a rate cut in September following soft labour market data. 

Focus will also be on the U.S. consumer price report for June on Thursday, with headline inflation expected to slow to 3.1% from 3.3% in May, and core inflation seen steady at 3.4%.

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

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI), opens new tab gained 0.5%, led by a 4.1% rise in Al Taiseer Group (4143.SE), opens new tab and a 1% increase in Al Rajhi Bank (1120.SE), opens new tab.

However, oil giant Saudi Aramco (2222.SE), opens new tab was down 0.4%.

Crude prices - a catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets - slipped after a hurricane that hit a key U.S. oil-producing hub in Texas caused less damage than markets had expected, easing concerns over supply disruption.

Aramco made its return to the debt market on Tuesday after a three-year hiatus, joining top companies and governments in the Gulf that have tapped markets this year to fund investments.

In Qatar, the index (.QSI), opens new tab edged 0.1% higher, with Qatar Islamic Bank (QISB.QA), opens new tab gaining 0.7%.

Dubai's main share index (.DFMGI), opens new tab eased 0.1%, with Gulf Navigation Holding (GNAV.DU), opens new tab declining 5.7%.

In Abu Dhabi, the index (.FTFADGI), opens new tab closed flat.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index (.EGX30), opens new tab added 0.2%, helped by a 2.3% increase in Talaat Mostafa Holding (TMGH.CA), opens new tab after the firm booked sales of 340 billion Egyptian pounds ($7.08 billion) for this year up to July 8.

Inflation in Egypt is forecast to have slowed for the fourth month in a row in June, maintaining a downward trajectory that most analysts expect to last for the rest of the year at least, a Reuters poll showed on Monday.