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Most Gulf stock markets rise as bets on a US interest rate cut increase.
ADES 2382.SA | 17.22 | -0.69% |
SAUDI ARAMCO 2222.SA | 23.75 | -1.04% |
Tadawul All Shares Index TASI.SA | 10452.91 | -1.30% |
August 5 (Reuters) - Most Gulf stock markets rose in early trading on Tuesday, in line with global bourses as investors ramped up bets that the U.S. Federal Reserve would act to support the world's largest economy.
Weak US jobs data released on Friday boosted the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates. According to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, the probability of a September rate cut has reached 94 percent, up from 63 percent last week.
The Federal Reserve's interest rate moves significantly impact monetary policy in the Gulf countries because most of the region's currencies are pegged to the dollar.
The Dubai index rose 0.6 percent, supported by gains in stocks linked to the real estate, utilities, and industrial sectors.
Emaar Properties shares rose 1.5 percent, and Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower) gained 1.7 percent. The company reported a 15.3 percent increase in quarterly net profit attributable to shareholders.
Meanwhile, Dubai's non-oil sector showed a strong recovery, with the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rising to 53.5 points in July from 51.8 in June, driven by a further improvement in sales volume.
The Abu Dhabi index gained 0.3 percent after two consecutive sessions of losses, supported by a 2.4 percent rise in Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and a 1.3 percent increase in Burjeel Holding.
The Qatari index rose 0.2 percent, supported by a 1.3 percent rise in Ooredoo Telecom shares and a 0.8 percent rise in Qatar Islamic Bank shares.
The Saudi index rose 0.2 percent in early trading, with most sectors rising, led by information technology, real estate, and healthcare stocks.
Shares in digital security company Alam rose 3 percent, while oil drilling and exploration company ADES Holdings rose 2.3 percent after the company agreed to buy its Oslo-listed competitor, Shelf Drilling, for 3.9 billion Norwegian kroner ($379.33 million) in cash.
Shares of oil giant Saudi Aramco fell 0.3 percent. The company reported a 22 percent drop in second-quarter profits, primarily due to lower revenues as it accumulated more debt.
(Prepared by Noha Zakaria for the Arabic edition - Edited by Mahmoud Salama)


