By Ateeq Shariff
May 14 (Reuters) - Most stock markets in the Gulf ended
lower on Sunday, tracking global peers, after a report showing
U.S. consumer sentiment slumped to a six-month low in May
reinforced bearish sentiment over talks to raise the U.S.
government's debt ceiling.
The Congressional Budget Office warned on Friday that the
United States faced a "significant risk" of defaulting on
payment obligations within the first two weeks of June if the
government's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling was not raised, adding
that payment operations will remain uncertain throughout May.
U.S. consumer sentiment slumped to a six-month low in May on
worries that political haggling over raising the borrowing cap
could trigger a recession, the University of Michigan survey
showed on Friday.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index fell 0.4%, with Dr
Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical Services losing 1% and Riyad
Bank retreating 1.3%.
The Qatari index declined 0.7%, with Islamic lender
Masraf Al Rayan losing 0.7%.
Oil prices, a key catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets,
settled more than 1% lower on Friday, falling for the third
consecutive week, as the market balanced supply fears against
renewed economic concerns in the United States and China.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index advanced
0.6%, with Commercial International Bank gaining 0.7%.
Egypt's government sold a 9.5% stake in state-controlled
Telecom Egypt for 3.75 billion Egyptian pounds
($121.56 million), the finance ministry said in a statement on
Sunday, breathing life into a privatisation programme that had
seemingly stalled.
Shares of Telecom Egypt were up 3%.
SAUDI ARABIA lost 0.4% to 11,348
QATAR dropped 0.7% to 10,669
EGYPT added 0.6% to 17,369
BAHRAIN was up 0.2% to 1,941
OMAN rose 0.8% to 4,705
KUWAIT declined 0.7% to 7,614
($1 = 30.8500 Egyptian pounds)
(Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru; Editing by Frank Jack
Daniel)
