Recession Fears in US Drag Arab Markets into Another Day of Losses

An investor passes in front of a screen displaying information on the Saudi stock market (Tadawul) in Riyadh. (Reuters)
An investor passes in front of a screen displaying information on the Saudi stock market (Tadawul) in Riyadh. (Reuters)
TT

Recession Fears in US Drag Arab Markets into Another Day of Losses

An investor passes in front of a screen displaying information on the Saudi stock market (Tadawul) in Riyadh. (Reuters)
An investor passes in front of a screen displaying information on the Saudi stock market (Tadawul) in Riyadh. (Reuters)

Fears of recession in the American economy, the decline in global markets - from stocks to oil to cryptocurrencies – led to a wave of sharp losses in Middle Eastern markets on Monday, ranging between 4.5 percent and 0.9 percent, for the second consecutive day.

The UAE markets topped the declines in the Arab region, as the Dubai Financial Market Index recorded losses of 4.5 percent, reaching 4,045.9 points, while the Abu Dhabi Securities Market Index fell by 3 percent to 8,974.69 points.

In Cairo, the EGX30 Index concluded trading on Monday with losses amounting to 2.3 percent, reaching levels of 27,840.64 points, and the Egyptian pound fell against the US dollar to 49.5 pounds, the lowest level since March 11.

The Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) decreased by 2.1 percent, or by 249.91 points, to close at the level of 11,504.46, with trades worth SAR 10 billion.

The General Market Index of the Kuwait Stock Exchange closed Monday’s trading at a decline to the level of 33.6927 points, or 2 percent, while the trading volume reached 260 million shares.

The Bahrain Stock Exchange Index suffered losses of 1 percent, reaching 1,931 points, while the Bahrain Islamic Index closed at 782.85, a decrease of 24.76 points.

The Muscat Securities Market Index closed down by 0.97 percent at 4602.25 points, a difference of 44.9 points from the last trading session, which reached 4647.20 points. The market value recorded a slight decrease of 0.3 percent.

On the other hand, the Qatar Stock Exchange index stabilized at 10,057.23 points after declining in the previous session by 0.7 percent to 10,057.13 points.



Gold Edges Up as Investors Seek Fed Clues from US Data

FILE PHOTO: A woman picks a gold earring at a jewelry shop in the old quarters of Delhi, India, May 24, 2023. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A woman picks a gold earring at a jewelry shop in the old quarters of Delhi, India, May 24, 2023. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis/File Photo
TT

Gold Edges Up as Investors Seek Fed Clues from US Data

FILE PHOTO: A woman picks a gold earring at a jewelry shop in the old quarters of Delhi, India, May 24, 2023. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A woman picks a gold earring at a jewelry shop in the old quarters of Delhi, India, May 24, 2023. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis/File Photo

Gold prices edged higher on Tuesday, supported by US rate cut bets and geopolitical concerns, while the focus shifted to economic data due this week for clues into the Federal Reserve's interest rate path.
Spot gold was up 0.1% at $2,640.65 per ounce, as of 0810 GMT, after falling by as much as 1% on Monday. US gold futures were 0.2% higher at $2,663.40, Reuters reported.
US data this week includes the job openings due later on Tuesday, the ADP employment report on Wednesday, and the payrolls report on Friday.
"The next big thing is going to be the payrolls on Friday night because it'll tell us whether the Fed is essentially going to green-light the interest rate cut in a couple of weeks," said Kyle Rodda, financial market analyst at Capital.com.
Fed Governor Christopher Waller on Monday said, with inflation still forecast to fall to 2%, he is inclined "at present" to support another rate cut later this month.
The comments boosted expectations of a rate cut at the Fed's Dec. 17-18 meeting to nearly 75% compared from 66% a day before.
"It seems we're just oscillating in one place until a new trigger emerges," said Ilya Spivak, head of global macro at Tastylive.
Non-yielding gold tends to thrive in a low-interest-rate environment and during periods of geopolitical turmoil.
Driving tensions in the Middle East, the Israeli military targeted dozens of Hezbollah positions across Lebanon on Monday.
Elsewhere, spot silver gained 1.3% to $30.89 per ounce, platinum added 0.6% to $952.18 and palladium rose 1% to $991.21.