Saudi Arabia's stock market eased in early trade on Thursday, on course to snap a 10-day winning streak led by U.S. interest rate-cut optimism, although the Dubai index was buoyed by top lender Emirates NBD.
Investors are fully pricing in a 25 basis point rate cut in September after Federal Reserve officials said on Wednesday the U.S. central bank was "closer" to cutting interest rates, citing the progress in inflation easing close to its 2% target.
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 eased 0.2%, with Al Rajhi Bank (1120.SE), opens new tab losing 0.5% and ACWA Power Company (2082.SE), opens new tab declining 0.8%.
In Qatar, the index (.QSI), opens new tab dropped 1%, as most of its constituents were in the negative territory including the Gulf's biggest lender Qatar National Bank (QNBK.QA), opens new tab, which retreated 2.5%.
Meanwhile, Wall Street's semiconductor index lost more than $500 billion in stock market value on Wednesday in its worst session since 2020 after a report said the United States was mulling tighter curbs on exports of advanced semiconductor technology to China.
Dubai's main share index (.DFMGI), opens new tab gained 0.6%, with Emirates NBD Bank (ENBD.DU), opens new tab rising 1.2%, after reporting a 13% rise in second-quarter net profit beating analyst estimates.
The Abu Dhabi index (.FTFADGI), opens new tab added 0.3%.
Crude prices - a catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets - extended gains from the previous session, buoyed by a bigger-than-expected decline last week in crude stocks in the United States, the world's largest oil consumer.
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