Gulf markets end muted; #Qatar extends gain | Reuters

Gulf markets end muted; Qatar extends gain | Reuters

Most stock markets in the Gulf were subdued on Thursday as investors turned cautious ahead of crucial U.S. job data this week for further clues on the timing of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

Markets see a 70% chance of a September rate reduction, and have priced in about two cuts this year. Forecasters polled by Reuters also expect two cuts.

The U.S. non-farm payroll report for May due on Friday will provide more clues on the Fed's rate trajectory.

Most Gulf currencies are pegged to the dollar, and any U.S. monetary policy change is usually followed by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

The Abu Dhabi benchmark index (.FTFADGI), opens new tab eased 0.1%, after previous session gains. The conglomerate International Holding Co (IHC.AD), opens new tab shed 0.3% and First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB.AD), opens new tab, the UAE's largest lender, slipped 1.2%

Dubai's benchmark index (.DFMGI), opens new tab fell marginally with the blue- chip developer Emaar Properties sliding 1.3%, and Taxi Company dropping 2.7%. Tolls operator Salik Company (SALIK.DU), opens new tab, however, gained 1.8%.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark stock index (.TASI), opens new tab bounced back from two consecutive sessions of losses and rose 0.1%, supported by finance stocks. Al Rajhi Bank, the world's largest Islamic lender, rose 1.4% and Saudi Aramco added 0.4%.

Saudi Arabia's sale of shares in oil giant Aramco drew more demand than the stock on offer within hours of offer on Sunday.

The banks on the deal will take orders through Thursday and will announce final price on Friday.

Among other gainers, shares of Miahona Holding (2084.SE), opens new tab, the water and wastewater infrastructure firm, jumped 29.91% to 14.94 riyals compared to its IPO price of 11.50 riyals per share in its market debut.

The Qatari benchmark index (.QSI), opens new tab continued its upward trend for a sixth straight session, increasing by 0.4%, with broad sector gains. Qatar Islamic Bank (QISB.QA), opens new tab added 0.7% and Qatar Fuel Co (QFLS.QA), opens new tab rose 1.4%.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index (.EGX30), opens new tab was down for a second straight session and ended 0.8% lower, with all sectors in the red.

Eastern Company(EAST.CA), opens new tab, the Egypt's largest cigarettes maker, slumped 22.1% and E-Finance for Digital (EFIH.CA), opens new tab declined 6.3%.

#Saudi Aramco’s $12 Billion Offer Said to Draw Strong Foreign Demand - Bloomberg

Saudi Aramco’s $12 Billion Offer Said to Draw Strong Foreign Demand - Bloomberg

Foreign investors have flocked to Saudi Aramco’s $12 billion share sale, people familiar with the matter said, marking a turnaround from the oil giant’s 2019 listing that ended up as a largely local affair.

The deal attracted significant interest from foreign investors, according to the people, who declined be identified as the information is private. It wasn’t immediately clear exactly how much demand came from overseas, but those investors put in enough bids to more than fully cover the offering, the people said.

Apart from Western institutions, demand for the offer was also strong among Asian investors, one of the people said, signaling the kingdom’s growing ties with larger Asian economies like China and India. Locally, too, there’s been strong interest.

The demand indicates that, for some investors, the world’s largest oil company has become a more attractive stock to hold despite rising concerns about climate change and the energy transition. Aramco’s huge dividend, coupled with a massive investment plan in renewable power, petrochemicals, gas and the opportunity to buy the stock at a discount, have drawn in investors.

Institutional investors can submit orders until Thursday for the deal, which was covered in just a few hours after it opened on Sunday. The extent of foreign participation will be closely watched — Saudi Aramco’s top executives held a series of events in the UK and the US this week to drum up demand.

Sinopec unit agrees $1.1 bln deal to build gas pipelines for #Saudi Aramco | Reuters

Sinopec unit agrees $1.1 bln deal to build gas pipelines for Saudi Aramco | Reuters

A Sinopec service unit said on Thursday it has signed a 7.956 billion yuan ($1.10 billion) deal to build natural gas pipelines for Saudi state oil company Aramco.
The contract is for Sinopec Oilfield Service Co (600871.SS), opens new tab to procure and construct the third-phase of the Master Gas System in Saudi Arabia, the Chinese firm said.

Sinopec will build parts of the pipeline grid that includes trunk lines with a total length of 2,630 kilometers (1634.21 miles) and 1,340 km of branch lines, part of Aramco's plan to expand gas distributions across the kingdom.

Under the deal, Sinopec is expected to complete construction by end of May 2027, the company said.

#UAE's Alef Education sets IPO final price; market cap on listing seen at $2.57bln

UAE's Alef Education sets IPO final price; market cap on listing seen at $2.57bln

The UAE's Alef Education, which is floating 20% of its share capital in an initial public offering (IPO), has set the final offer price at the top of the indicative range at 1.35 dirhams ($0.37) per share, potentially raising AED 1.89 billion ($514 million).

This implies a market capitalisation at the time of listing of AED 9.45 billion ($2.57 billion), a statement on Thursday said.

At the end of the bookbuild, total demand for the IPO amounted to over AED 74 billion, implying an oversubscription level of approximately 39x in aggregate.

All the 1.4 billion shares to be offered are held by Tech Nova Investment – Sole Proprietorship L.L.C and Kryptonite Investments L.L.C.

The shares are expected to be admitted to the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange on 12 June, under the ticker symbol “AlefEdT".

Gulf markets join global rally on rising Fed rate cut hopes | Reuters

Gulf markets join global rally on rising Fed rate cut hopes | Reuters

Most stock markets in the Gulf tracked global peers higher in early trading on Thursday as hopes of a September interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve firmed after softer U.S. jobs data.

The May private payrolls report on Wednesday was the latest data to suggest an easing in labour market tightness that could propel the Fed to begin cutting rates this year.

Most Gulf currencies are pegged to the dollar, and any U.S. monetary policy change is usually followed by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark stock index (.TASI), opens new tab advanced 0.7%, with most of its constituents posting gains. Al Rajhi Bank (1120.SE), opens new tab, the world's largest Islamic lender, climbed 1.3% and Saudi Aramco (2222.SE), opens new tab added 0.9%.

The oil major Aramco held talks with U.S. firms Tellurian and NextDecade on two separate liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

Among other gainers, Miahona Holding (2084.SE), opens new tab, the water and wastewater infrastructure firm, jumped 29.91% on its market debut to 14.94 riyals compared to its IPO price of 11.50.

Dubai's benchmark stock index (.DFMGI), opens new tab edged up 0.2%, supported by gains in most sectors, with tolls operator Salik Company (SALIK.DU), opens new tab rising 0.9% and National Central Cooling (TABR.DU), opens new tab adding 1.6%.

The Abu Dhabi benchmark index (.FTFADGI), opens new tab was up 0.1%, with the emirate's largest developer Aldar Properties (ALDAR.AD), opens new tab rising 1.1% and Multiply Group (MULTIPLY.AD), opens new tab gaining 1.6%.

The Qatari benchmark index (.QSI), opens new tab rose 0.1%, helped by a 0.3% rise in Qatar Islamic Bank (QISB.QA), opens new tab and a 0.8% gain in Qatar Navigation (QNNC.QA), opens new tab.