Feb 7 (Reuters) - Most major Gulf equity market were
subdued on Tuesday as investors remained cautious ahead of a
U.S. Federal Reserve policymaking meeting, with many fearing
interest rates would remain higher for longer.
Investors were awaiting a speech by Fed Chairman Jerome
Powell at the Economic Club of Washington later on Tuesday.
The Fed is likely to need to lift the benchmark interest
rate above 5% to curtail high inflation.
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, exposing the region to the direct
impact from any monetary tightening by the Fed.
The Qatari Stock index fell 0.5%, dragged down by
losses in financial and material sectors, with the Gulf's
largest lender Qatar National Bank dropping 1.9%,
while heavyweights Qatar Commercial Bank and Masraf Al
Rayan were down 1.2% and 1.1% respectively.
However, Doha Bank gained 1.8% after reporting a
rise in full-year net profit of 765.4 million riyals($210.27
million) riyals.
Dubai's benchmark stock index was flat, as gains in
industrial stocks were capped by losses in financial stocks.
Tolls operator Salik gained 1.5%, while lender Dubai
Islamic Bank was down 0.4%.
Utility provider National Central Cooling declined
1.1% and Gulf Navigation Holding dropped 0.8% after it reported
a fall in FY net profit.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark stock index opened in
negative territory, extending losses to a seventh session. The
index was weighed by a 0.6% fall in Al Rajhi Bank , the
world's largest Islamic bank by market value.
The luxury real estate developer Retal Urban and
Dr Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical fell 0.3% and 1.3%,
respectively.
In Abu Dhabi, the benchmark stock index opened
down 0.1%, dragged by a 0.3% drop in conglomerate International
holding Company and a 0.4% decline in Alpha
Dhabi .
(Reporting by Md Manzer Hussain in Bengaluru
Editing by Bernadette Baum)
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