Gulf Markets Dip on Fed Rate Worries; Qatar and Saudi Gain as Oil Rises, Gold Surges Amid Geopolitical Uncertainty - APM Capital Market Report

(MENAFN- Matrix PR) - Mark Pussard, Head of Risk, APM Capital

18th November 2024

GCC market
Most stock markets in the Gulf ended lower on Monday, hurt by concerns that the U.S. Federal Reserve would slow its pace of interest-rate cuts, while the Qatar and Saudi indices rose amid higher oil prices.

Dubai's benchmark stock index slipped 0.6%, weighed down by losses in utilities, consumer staples and industry sectors.

The Abu Dhabi benchmark index snapped two sessions of gains, falling 0.6% in its biggest daily loss in over a month. Conglomerate International Holding and its unit Alpha Dhabi slipped 1.6% and 2%, respectively.

The Qatari benchmark index rose 0.4%, aided by a 1.7% gain in Qatar National Bank, the region's largest lender, and a 1.1% increase in Barwa Real Estate.

Commodities
After six days of losses, gold prices soared on Monday as the U.S. dollar's surge stalled and heightened uncertainty over the Russia-Ukraine conflict rekindled safe-haven demand.

Spot gold jumped 1.9% to $2,613 per ounce, moving away from a two-month low on Thursday. U.S. gold futures climbed 1.7% to $2,623.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil rose sharply on Monday after Equinor suspended production at the 500,000-barrel-per-day Johan Sverdrup field offshore Norway following a power outage.

WTI crude oil for December delivery closed up US$2.16 to settle at US$69.16 per barrel, while January Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen up US$2.33 to US$73.37.

Wallstreet market
The Nasdaq and S&P 500 closed higher on Monday, recovering some losses as investors anticipate quarterly earnings from AI leader Nvidia, and Tesla jumped on the prospect of favorable policy changes from the incoming Trump administration.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 55.39 points, or 0.13%, to 43,389.60. The S&P 500 gained 23.00 points, or 0.39%, to 5,893.62 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 111.69 points, or 0.60%, to 18,791.81.

European market
European stocks slipped on Monday amid worries about Donald Trump’s policies and as traders trimmed the odds of the European Central Bank’s rate cuts.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index closed 0.1% lower, ending last week with its fourth straight week in the red the longest losing streak since 2022.

London blue chips managed to remain in the black, rising 0.5% whilst mid-caps were a mirror image, down 0.43%. The FTSE 100 Index closed up 45.71 points or 0.57% today to 8109.32.

The DAX index closed 0.2% to 19,189 lower on Monday, marking its second consecutive session of slight losses, while the MDAX index declined 0.81%, and the TecDAX index declined 0.60%

Asian market
In Asia on Monday, Tokyo and Shanghai stock markets closed lower while Hong Kong rose, helped by hopes of more Chinese stimulus after a recent raft of measures.

The Nikkei 225 Index dropped 1.09% to close at 38,221, while the broader Topix Index fell 0.73% to 2,692 on Monday,

The Hang Seng rose 150 points or 0.8% to close at 19,577 on Monday, breaking a six-session of losses after China urged listed companies to lift share prices through mergers and acquisitions.

FX
The dollar rose against the yen on Monday to resume its recent ascent after Japan's top central bank official signaled further monetary policy tightening was on the horizon but was vague on the timing of any such hike.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, fell 0.5% to 106.20, with the euro up 0.54% at $1.0598. The index hit a more than one-year high last week of 107.07.

The Japanese yen strengthened 0.17% to 154.6 yen. Sterling strengthened 0.47% to $1.2674 after dropping 2.4% last week, its biggest weekly percentage drop since early February 2023.

In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin fell 1.82% to $90,114.00.

MENAFN19112024003538015229ID1108900487