UAE
\nMost major stock markets in the Gulf edged higher in early trade on Monday with cooler-than-expected US inflation data supporting the view that the Federal Reserve could cut borrowing costs in the new year.
\nTrading volumes were mostly low because of the absence of many foreign investors for Christmas and New Year holidays.
\nThe Commerce Department report showed US prices fell in November for the first time in more than 3-1\/2 years, pushing the annual increase in inflation further below 3%.
\nMost Gulf bourses gain on rate cut bets; Egypt dips
\nMonetary policy in the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is usually guided by the decisions of the US Federal Reserve, as most regional currencies are pegged to the dollar.
\nSaudi Arabia\u2019s benchmark index rose 0.2%, supported by a 1.2% gain in auto rental firm Lumi and a 0.6% increase in Al Rajhi Bank.
\nDubai\u2019s main share index eased 0.3%, hit by a 0.9% decline in top lender Emirates NBD and a 0.5% decrease in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties.
\nIn Abu Dhabi, the index added 0.1%.
\nThe Qatari benchmark rose 0.4%, on course to gain for seventh session, led by a 2% rise in sharia-compliant lender Masraf Al Rayan.
\nSAUDI ARABIA rose 1.1% to 9,473
\nABU DHABI fell 1.8% to 5,583
\nDUBAI down 0.1% to 2,539
\nQATAR gained 0.7% to 10,118
\nEGYPT lost 1.1% to 11,337
\nBAHRAIN eased 0.7% to 1,467
\nOMAN rose 0.8% to 3,697
\nKUWAIT added 0.6% to 6,269<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UAE Most major stock markets in the Gulf edged higher in early trade on Monday with cooler-than-expected US inflation data supporting the view that the Federal Reserve could cut borrowing costs in the new year. Trading volumes were mostly low because of the absence of many foreign investors for Christmas and New Year holidays. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":376807,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-376793","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\n