($1 = 3.6729 UAE dirham) (Reporting by Mohd Edrees in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)
Jan 31 (Reuters) - Most major stock markets in the Gulf
fell in early trade on Tuesday, in tandem with oil prices and
Asian peers as investors were cautious ahead of major central
bank meetings this week, while Dubai bucked the trend.
Investors expect the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise interest
rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday, followed the day after by
half-point increases by the Bank of England and European Central
Bank.
Most Gulf currencies are pegged to the U.S. dollar, while
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar usually mirror
U.S. monetary policy changes.
The Qatari Stock index declined 1%, pressured by
losses in banking stocks, with the Gulf's largest lender Qatar
National Bank falling 1.9%, while Commercial Bank dropped 2.3%.
Abu Dhabi's benchmark index retreated 0.9%, as
Conglomerate International Holding Company moved down
2.1% on plans to invest 1.4 billion dirhams ($381.2 million) in
Adani Enterprises' follow-on stock offering.
Adani Enterprises is the flagship company of the Adani
Group, controlled by Asia's richest man, Gautam Adani. Last
week, short-seller Hindenburg Research accused the group of
improper use of offshore tax havens and flagged concerns about
high debt, eroding $65 billion of the group's combined market
value. Adani has called the report baseless.
However, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank surged 4.3% after
the lender posted a 56% jump in fourth-quarter net profit to
1.14 billion dirhams ($310.38 million).
Saudi Arabia's benchmark stock index slipped 0.5%,
dragged down by financial and real state stocks.
Luxury home maker Retal Urban Development fell
0.7% and Riyad Bank decreased 2.2%.
Brent Crude fell 11 cents, or 0.13%, to $84.79 a
barrel by 0743 GMT.
However, National Shipping Company Of Saudi Arabia (known as
Bahri) jumped 4.3% as the company reported more than
500% growth in fourth-quarter net profit and a 76% increase in
revenue.
Dubai's benchmark index edged 0.1% higher,
supported by a 0.8% gain each in top lender Emirates NBD and toll operator Salik Company .
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