Abu Dhabi
\nStock markets in the Gulf ended mixed on Thursday as oil prices fell, while less-hawkish minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve\u2019s last policy meeting fuelled speculation of slower interest rate hikes.
\nMost Gulf Cooperation Council countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, have their currencies pegged to the U.S. dollar and generally follow the Federal Reserve\u2019s policy moves, exposing the region to a direct impact from monetary tightening in the United States.
\nSaudi Arabia\u2019s benchmark index (.TASI) fell 0.2%, hit by a 1.5% fall in Retal Urban Development Co (4322.SE) and a 4.7% slide in Dr Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical Services (4013.SE).
\nThe index posted its fifth consecutive weekly loss, declining 1.8%.
\nSeparately, Saudi eyecare group Magrabi is considering a flotation of its hospitals business next year and has hired banks for the deal, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing two sources familiar with the matter.
\nDubai\u2019s main share index (.DFMGI) ended flat.
\nIn Abu Dhabi, the index (.FTFADGI) added 0.1%, helped by a 0.8% rise in the country\u2019s biggest lender, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB.AD).
\nThe Qatari index (.QSI) lost 0.3%, with Qatar Islamic Bank (QISB.QA) falling 1.1% and Islamic lender Masraf Al Rayan (MARK.QA) retreating 1.5%.
\nThe Qatari stock market followed the volatility in natural gas prices and could record some price corrections if a negative trend takes hold in energy prices, Farah Mourad, senior market analyst at XTB MENA, said.
\nOil prices – a key catalyst for the Gulf\u2019s financial markets – fell, hovering around two-month lows as the level of a proposed G7 cap on the price of Russian oil raised doubts about how much it would limit supply.
\nThe G7 group of nations is looking at a cap on Russian seaborne oil at $65-$70 a barrel, a European official said, though European Union governments have yet to agree on a price.
\nOutside the Gulf, Egypt\u2019s blue-chip index (.EGX30) advanced 1.4%.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Abu Dhabi Stock markets in the Gulf ended mixed on Thursday as oil prices fell, while less-hawkish minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve\u2019s last policy meeting fuelled speculation of slower interest rate hikes. Most Gulf Cooperation Council countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, have their currencies pegged to the U.S. dollar […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":297302,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[11559,11541,707,11529],"class_list":{"0":"post-297294","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-gulf-market","9":"tag-leadpakistan","10":"tag-oil","11":"tag-slowdown"},"yoast_head":"\n