Mideast Stocks: Most Gulf markets fall as risk of Fed rate hike rises

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Most stock markets in the Gulf ended lower on Monday after U.S. jobs data pointed to a tight labour market and heightened expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at its meeting next month.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index fell 0.6%, hit by a 1.6% fall in Al Rajhi Bank and a 0.8% decrease in Retal Urban Development Co. A historically low U.S. unemployment rate and rising wages will likely keep the Fed on track to raise rates by a quarter of a percentage point next month, as risks of a financial crisis ease and concerns about inflation remain high.

Most Gulf currencies are pegged to the U.S. dollar, and Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates usually mirror any monetary policy change in the United States.

After hitting a peak for this year, the Saudi market could record some price corrections as traders move to secure their gains, Daniel Takieddine, CEO MENA at BDSwiss, said. He added "strong fundamentals" could lead the index to later rebound.

In Qatar, the index eased 0.2%, with Commercial Bank losing 1.8%. Qatar National Bank, the Gulf's largest lender by assets, edged 0.3% higher after reporting a rise in first-quarter earnings. The Abu Dhabi index added 0.4%.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index gained 0.6%, as El Sewedy Electric Co advanced more than 5%. Egypt's annual urban consumer inflation rate in March climbed to 32.7% year-on-year, just shy of an all-time record, and up from 31.9% in February, data from the country's statistics agency CAPMAS showed on Monday. Takkieddine said a less-than-expected rise in inflation had buoyed the Egyptian bourse, but he said the level was still high and that had contributed to international investors' concerns, meaning they could "maintain their selling trend".