The kingdom's annual inflation rate was 2.7% in April,
unchanged from the previous month, driven mostly by housing
rental costs, according to government data released on Monday.
The Qatari benchmark closed 1.8% lower, its biggest
fall since mid-March, as most of its constituents were in the
negative territory.
The Qatari stock market followed other markets in the region
to the downside. The main index saw traders securing their gains
after the market's latest rebound, but could find some support
as natural gas prices could begin to recover, said Daniel
Takieddine, CEO MENA at BDSwiss.
Dubai's main share index retreated 1%, with top
lender Emirates NBD losing 2.5% and sharia-compliant
bank Dubai Islamic Bank falling 1.9%.
In Abu Dhabi, the index declined 1.7%, dragged
down by a 4.8% slide in Fertiglobe , while ADNOC
Gas tumbled 3.3%.
The energy firm, which made market debut in March, reported
a 9% rise in its first-quarter net income on Thursday. Revenue,
however, fell 15% year-on-year to $6.2 billion.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index slipped
1.3%, with almost all its constituents in the negative
territory, including tobacco monopoly Eastern Company losing 3.7%.
The Egyptian bourse saw international investors putting
pressure on prices as they continue to sell in high volumes, in
particular as risk appetite could deteriorate further as global
traders consider major risk factors in the U.S. as well as risks
of the Egyptian pound depreciating in the near future, said
Takieddine.
"At the same time, the government's efforts to privatize the
economy could help limit the downside potential."
SAUDI ARABIA down 1% to 11,230
ABU DHABI fell 1.7% to 9,471
DUBAI dropped 1% to 3,525
QATAR lost 1.8% to 10,479
EGYPT lost 1.3% to 17,136
BAHRAIN was down 0.1% to 1,938
OMAN added 0.2% to 4,716
KUWAIT declined 1% to 7,541
(Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
