DUBAI: Gulf stock markets were mixed at Sunday’s close, with Abu Dhabi and Dubai ending the day in a narrow range, while the Saudi stock market, the biggest in the region, dropped 0.57 percent, amid weakness in energy and financial stocks.
The Gulf market took little respite from a rise in oil prices and a rebound for Wall Street stocks on Friday and following US President Donald Trump announced plans to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
“The low liquidity is still affecting the United Arab Emirates stock market and there seems little interest to allocate funds that are sitting on the side,” said Tariq Qaqish, Managing Director Asset Management at Menacorp in Dubai.
“We do see stocks trading at attractive levels and close to book values yet weak investor confidence is keeping investors away,” he said.
The Abu Dhabi index was up 0.2 percent, with health care and utilities sectors providing it underlying support.
Abu Dhabi National Energy Co. rose 1.27 percent and Gulf Pharmaceutical Industries climbed 8.6 percent.
The Dubai index was up 0.1 percent.
In Dubai, Aramex was down 2.15 percent after its board met on Thursday and proposed a full year cash dividend of 156.3 percent of paid up capital
Saudi Arabia’s index fell 0.57 percent, hurt by a 2.03 percent drop in Saudi Arabian Mining Company, the majority owner of the world’s largest fully integrated aluminum facility, after Trump announced plans to impose a 10-percent tariff on aluminum imports.
He will make a final decision by April 11.
Banking stocks were also weak, with Al Rajhi Banking & Investment Corp. dropping 0.57 percent and Alinma Bank falling 1.8 percent. Saudi banks are reeling from news that the government has demanded additional Zakat payments from them going back as far as 2002.
NCB Capital, in a report on technicals, said the index had a bearish undertone based on its daily chart, but could find support at 7,250 and 7,150 points.
Kuwait’s stock index was down 0.59 percent, weighed by Gulf Bank , which was down 2.7 percent
Qatar’s market was closed for a bank holiday.
Oman’s benchmark was down 0.17 percent, while Bahrain’s market index was up 0.49 percent.
Egypt’s index recovered from early weakness to close 0.49 percent higher, fueled by energy and financial stocks.
EFG Hermes Holdings rose 2.3 percent after Friday’s announcement that RA Mena Holdings increased its stake in the company to 8.1 percent from 2.63 percent.
Gulf markets mixed, Saudi stocks slip on banks
Gulf markets mixed, Saudi stocks slip on banks
Gold rises on Iran war safe-haven bid; firm dollar limits upside
BENGALURU: Gold prices rose on March 5, lifted by safe-haven demand amid an escalating war in the Middle East, while a stronger dollar and concerns around the US Federal Reserve’s monetary policy capped gains.
Spot gold was up 0.6 percent at $5,168.43 per ounce, as of 11:55 am Saudi time. US gold futures for April delivery were up 0.9 percent at $5,179.20.
Israel launched a large wave of strikes on Tehran on March 5, targeting what it said was infrastructure belonging to the Iranian authorities, after Iranian missiles sent millions of Israelis rushing into bomb shelters.
“On the one hand, there may be greater safe-haven demand for gold given the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. On the other hand, the risk of a prolonged period of higher energy prices that takes rate cuts off the table, and adds to the chance of rate hikes, could be capping further gains,” said Hamad Hussain, a climate and commodities economist at Capital Economics.
The US dollar rose about 0.3 percent after briefly retreating from three-month highs, as the fallout from the war roiled global markets and kept sentiment fragile.
Concerns about energy supply continued to drive up oil prices and stoke inflation fears.
Gold is considered a hedge against inflation in the long run, but also tends to thrive when interest rates are lower, as it is a non-yielding asset.
President Donald Trump, on March 4, officially nominated former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh to be the US central bank’s next chair.
US economic activity grew slightly, prices continued to increase and employment levels were stable in recent weeks, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday in its latest “Beige Book” report.
Markets expect the Fed to keep rates steady at its next policy meeting on March 18, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
Investors are looking out for the weekly US jobless claims data, due later today, and the US employment report for February on March 6 for further clues on monetary policy this year.
Spot silver rose 0.5 percent to $83.80 per ounce. Platinum gained 1.1 percent to $2,172.20, while palladium lost 0.7 percent to $1,662.07.
