Mideast Stocks: Gulf bourses trade lower ahead of key Fed speech
Powell's speech at the annual Jackson Hole symposium on Friday is the main focus, with traders watching for any push-back against market pricing of a rate cut next month.
Shifts in U.S. monetary policy have a significant impact on Gulf markets, where most currencies are pegged to the dollar.
The Qatari benchmark index slipped 0.6%, dragged by declines in most shares. Qatar National Bank, the region's largest lender, eased 1% and Qatar Navigation fell 1.6%.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark stock index fell 0.2%, with most constituents lower. Saudi Basic Industries lost 2.9% and oil major Saudi Aramco declined 1.1%.
Dubai's benchmark stock index was down 0.2% with most sectors in red. Emirates Central Cooling Systems fell 1.2%, while Emirates NBD dropped 1.3%. Its largest lender ENBD issued a 1 billion renminbi ($139 million) three-year Dim Sum bond on Tuesday at par to yield 2.4%, fixed income news service IFR reported.
The Abu Dhabi benchmark index eked out a 0.1% gain, lifted by a 2.7% rise in Multiply Group and a 0.8% advance in blue-chip developer Aldar Properties . Conglomerate Alpha Dhabi and ADNOC Logistics slipped 1% and 0.9% respectively.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
25 minutes ago
- The National
Fed minutes: Inflation outweighs employment concerns in divided decision
Federal Reserve officials were concerned in July about the effect that tariffs would have on inflation and unemployment, although minutes released from the meeting showed on Wednesday that a large majority found it too soon to begin cutting interest rates. The minutes underscored the division within the central bank, which voted to maintain its target interest rate range at 4.25 to 4.50 per cent despite two Fed officials voting to reduce the rate. The UAE Central Bank, which follows the Fed's decisions due to the dollar peg, also maintained rates after the announcement on July 30. The July meeting minutes showed 'almost all' Fed officials supported the decision. US President Donald Trump's tariff agenda has weighed heavily on the Fed this year. Officials entered last month's meeting debating whether tariffs would have a greater impact on inflation, which still remains above the Fed's 2 per cent target, or on its employment mandate. The minutes appeared to suggested that Fed governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman – two Trump appointments reported to be in consideration as the next Fed chief – were alone in their dissent. 'A majority of participants judged the upside risk to inflation as the greater of these two risks, while several participants viewed the two risks as roughly balanced, and a couple of participants considered downside risk to employment the more salient risk,' the minutes read. Fed chairman Jerome Powell delivered a hawkish sentiment when speaking to reporters after the decision, suggesting that the Fed could continue to delay cutting rates as it awaited further clarity on how tariffs would affect inflation. 'When we have risks to both goals, and one of them is farther away from goal than the other, and that's inflation, that means policy should be tight, because tight policy is what brings inflation down,' Mr Powell said at the time. A dismal jobs report released two days after the meeting drastically changed the rate-cut calculus expected to play out later this year. The report showed that not only had employers added fewer jobs than expected in July, but significant downwards revisions from previous months pointed to signs of a weakening labour market. Adding to the mixed messages the Fed has received, underlying inflation data has also come in hotter than expected since July. The report from the Bureau of Labour and Statistics showed that prices for imported items such as household furnishing, apparel and recreational goods all increased last month, while medical care services and airfare prices were also higher than previous. Wholesale inflation data also saw its biggest increase in three years in July, in another sign that companies are raising their prices to offset higher costs. Those reports have done little to dent expectations of a September rate cut, however. About 83 per cent of traders believe the Fed will resuming cutting rates next month, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, before reducing policy again in December. 'The labour market will be the swing factor on whether the Fed cuts interest rates in September or not,' Oxford Economics chief US economist Ryan Sweet wrote to clients. The minutes come at a crucial time for Mr Powell, who is due to deliver a keynote address at the annual Jackson Hole symposium in Wyoming on Friday. Mr Powell will deliver the highly anticipated speech under pressure on several fronts from Mr Trump, the two dissenting Fed governors and the looming arrival of a key Trump ally to the Federal Reserve board. Friday's address during the annual gathering, attended by central bankers from around the world, is expected to include Mr Powell's short-term and long-term views on monetary policy. Earlier on Wednesday, Mr Trump opened a new line of attack on the US central bank, calling for the resignation of Fed governor Lisa Cook after one of his allies accused her of mortgage fraud. Ms Cook's term as Fed governor expires in 2038. Together they, along with a rotating group of regional fed bank presidents, make up the Federal Open Market Committee that sets its interest rates. The move follows a pattern of attempts by Mr Trump to exert control of the Fed, whose independence is generally considered sacrosanct among economists and policymakers
Arabian Business
an hour ago
- Arabian Business
Saudi Arabia grants VistaJet license for domestic private flights
Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has announced that VistaJet has become the first foreign operator to receive a certificate to conduct private domestic flights in the Kingdom. The foreign operator certificate, granted after VistaJet met all requirements and standards under the Civil Aviation Law, will take effect from May 1, 2025. It allows foreign private jet operators to run on-demand flights within the Kingdom. Private jet flights in Saudi Arabia GACA said the move represents a major step in advancing the goals of the Aviation Program, a key initiative under the National Transport and Logistics Strategy, which aims to make Saudi Arabia the leading aviation hub in the Middle East by 2030. The program also supports the Kingdom's ambition to transform into a global logistics hub connecting three continents. According to GACA, the certification of VistaJet reflects its commitment to applying the highest safety standards and marks progress toward enhancing the quality of private aviation services. It also aligns with efforts to create an attractive investment environment and foster partnerships that boost the competitiveness of the aviation sector. VistaJet is expected to begin operations inside the Kingdom this year, with the dual aim of attracting high-quality investment and strengthening Saudi Arabia's global aviation presence. GACA said the move will contribute to business growth, tourism development, and sector competitiveness both regionally and internationally. The authority noted:
Zawya
an hour ago
- Zawya
Trump calls on Fed Governor Cook to resign
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday called on Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to resign, intensifying his effort to gain influence over the central bank on the basis of allegations made by one of his allies about mortgages Cook holds in Michigan and Georgia. U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte alleged in a post on X earlier on Wednesday that Cook had designated a condo in Atlanta as her primary residence after taking a loan on her home in Michigan, which she also declared as a primary residence. Loans for a primary residence can carry easier terms than for second homes or investment properties. Pulte said the loans date to mid-2021, before Cook was appointed to the Fed by former President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate the following year. She is a native of Georgia and at the time was an economics professor at Michigan State University. Pulte asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate, and Trump quickly amplified the allegation. The Justice Department was taking the matter very seriously, a department official told Reuters. Spokespersons for the Fed and for Cook did not immediately respond to a request for comment. "Cook must resign, now!!!" Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform, his latest remarks aimed at reshaping the make-up of the U.S. central bank, a body designed to set benchmark interest rates independent of White House influence. Cook is one of three Biden appointees to the Fed whose terms extend beyond Trump's time in office, complicating the president's efforts to get more control by appointing a majority of its seven-member board. Currently two of the Fed's remaining six board members were appointed by Trump, Governor Christopher Waller and Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman. Trump has repeatedly blasted Fed Chair Jerome Powell over benchmark rates that he wants sharply reduced, calling for his resignation while acknowledging that the Fed's unique status in U.S. governance prevents him from firing Fed board members over monetary policy disputes. Trump can name a new chair when Powell's term ends in May, but claiming a majority on the board may take more time. Powell could continue serving as a governor until 2028, near the end of Trump's term, should he buck convention and continue sitting on the board under a new chair. Until Powell's departure, Trump at this point has only one other seat to fill, vacated recently by the surprise resignation of former Governor Adriana Kugler. Earlier this month Trump nominated Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Stephen Miran to serve out the rest of her term. (Reporting by Susan Heavey and Howard Schneider; Additional reporting by Dan Burns and Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
