Khaberni - Most Gulf stock exchanges ended trading lower on Sunday, under the pressure of uncertainties about whether the Federal Reserve (the U.S. central bank) will implement another rate cut before the end of the year.
Beth Hammack, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, said on Friday that she opposed the decision to cut interest rates last week; because inflation is still high.
The Federal Reserve cut rates on Wednesday; however, statements by its chairman Jerome Powell indicate that another cut this year is not certain.
According to the CME FedWatch Tool, markets now expect a 63% chance of a 25 basis point rate cut at the December meeting, down from nearly 92% a week ago.
U.S. monetary policy decisions significantly impact Gulf markets as most of the currencies are pegged to the dollar.
The main index in Saudi Arabia fell 1%, impacted by a 2.5% loss on Al Rajhi Bank's stock and a 1% decline on the giant oil company Saudi Aramco’s stock.
In Qatar, the index declined 0.2% due to a 0.5% fall in Qatar Petrochemical Industries Company's stock and a 0.3% decrease in Qatar Islamic Bank's stock.
Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding's stock lost 1.8% following a decline in net profits over nine months.
Meanwhile, the Bahrain Stock Exchange index rose 0.5%, Oman's index gained 0.4%, and Kuwait's index fell 0.1%.
Outside the Gulf area, Egypt's leading stock index fell 0.5%; with the Commercial International Bank's stock dropping 1.4%.
