(Reporting by Md Manzer Hussain, editing by Ed Osmond)
March 21 (Reuters) - Most Gulf stock markets closed
higher on Tuesday as fears of a global banking meltdown eased,
and expectations of a lower interest rate hike by the U.S.
Federal Reserve raised investors' sentiments.
Markets are pricing in a 25 bps increase by the U.S. Federal
Reserve which is starting a two-day meeting later in the day,
down from previous expectations for a 50 bps increase.
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.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index climbed 1.4%,
extending its rally to a second session. The index recorded a
surge in all sectors with Kingdom's largest lender by assets
Saudi National Bank rising 3.4% and Riyad Bank surging 3.9%.
Arabian Drilling surged 3.1% after HSBC on Tuesday
raised its target price to SAR 164 from SAR 157.
Shares of Perfect Presentation for Commercial Services shot up 9.7%, the highest intraday rise since it went
public in November 2022.
The ICT solutions provider reported on Monday a more than
63% jump in full-year net profit.
Dubai's benchmark index snapped its previous
sessions losses and ended 1.1% higher. The index was lifted by
gains in all sectors with tolls operator Salik rising
2.1% and Emaar Properties surging 3.9%.
Real estate developer Emaar announced that it will build a
$60 million shopping and office complex in Srinagar, the capital
of Jammu and Kashmir in India.
The emirate's largest lender Emirates NBD gained
0.8%.
The Qatari Stock index rose 1%, ending its eight
session losses. The index saw broad-based gains, led by the
finance and energy sectors.
Qatar National Bank , the region's largest bank, and
Commercial Bank climbed 2.9% and 1.5% respectively.
In Abu Dhabi, the index fell marginally,
extending previous session decline, weighed down by a 10% slump
in National Marine Dredging and a 1% drop in First Abu
Dhabi Bank , the United Arab Emirates' biggest lender.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index climbed
2.7%, extending previous session gains with all sectors in the
positive territory.
Commercial International Bank and Fawry Banking gained 2.1% and 5.2% respectively.
"The Egyptian stock market benefited from the improving
sentiment among global investors and developments around the
national IPO program", said Fadi Reyad, Chief Market Analyst at
CAPEX.com MENA.
SAUDI ARABIA rose 1.4% to 10,360
KUWAIT added 0.4% to 7,827
QATAR rose 1% at 9,877
EGYPT climbed 2.7% to 15,326
BAHRAIN added 0.7% to 1,900
OMAN ended flat at 4,859
ABU DHABI lost 0.01% to 9,545
DUBAI added 1.1% at 3,381
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