Most Gulf bourses gain in line with Asian shares; Saudi falls

Most stock markets in the Gulf rose in early trade on Tuesday, in line with Asian shares, while the Saudi index extended losses as oil prices fell.

MSCI’s broadest index of AsiaPacific shares outside Japan gained 1.5% on Tuesday, as hopes grow for an easing of China’s unprecedented regulatory crackdown on its once-freewheeling tech sector.

Abu Dhabi’s benchmark index advanced 3.1%, buoyed by a 4.1% jump in the counry’s largest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank, while telecoms company e& rose 3.4%.

Last week, e&, formerly known as Emirates Telecommunications Group, said it had bought a 9.8% stake in Vodafone for $4.4 billion, days after saying it was looking to expand into new markets and related areas such as financial technology.

Dubai’s benchmark index gained 1.7%, with the emirate’s biggest listed property firm Emaar Properties up 6.4%.

Saudi bourse extends losses; Qatar edges higher. On Friday, Emaar posted a record profit of 2.24 billion dirham ($610 million) in the first quarter, as property sales surged 17%.

Analysts had expected a net profit of 1.06 billion dirhams, according to Refinitiv. The Qatari index climbed 1.5%, led by a 2.5% rise in Qatar National Bank and a 2.4% gain for telecoms firm Ooredoo.

Bucking the trend, Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index fell 0.8%, extending the previous session’s losses as it was hit by a 2.4% fall in oil giant Saudi Aramco.

The kingdom’s crude oil exports in March fell to 7.235 million barrels per day from 7.307 million bpd in Feb, official data showed on Monday.

Oil prices, a key catalyst for the Gulf’s financial markets, inched lower on Tuesday as Hungary resisted a European Union push for a ban on Russian oil imports, a move that would tighten global supply, with investors taking profits on a recent rally.

Meanwhile, Tokyo stocks fell in early trade Thursday after overnight drops on Wall Street as investors fret over inflation. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 1.34 percent, or 350.51 points, to 25,863.13 in early trade, while the broader Topix index gave up 0.79 percent, or 14.59 points, to 1,836.56.

The dollar stood at 129.58 yen, down from 130.00 yen seen Wednesday in New York. Broad selloffs in Tokyo came after US shares soured on increased fears of even faster US tightening as inflation continues to haunt the global economy.

The market continued to focus on the latest US inflation data, which rose at an annual pace of 8.3 percent, higher than the market’s expectation for 8.1 percent. “Inflation might have fallen from the previous high, but the slow pace of the drop will only add to concerns that… the Fed still has a problem with more persistent inflation,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a note.

The market is feeling “even more capitulatory” as investors “will have to price a more prolonged Fed hiking cycle”. Tokyo stocks open lower after mixed US close

He also pointed to fears that the Fed may turn more hawkish, and eventually trigger a recession. The Tokyo market will digest the news of US inflation while also monitoring lockdowns in China, Okasan Online Securities said in a note. “Inflation worries will likely continue to weigh on the market, especially when the market sees profound risks of supply chain disruptions due to China’s lockdowns,” Okasan said in a note.

“The Tokyo market is expected to stay soft today.”

Among major shares, SoftBank Group dropped 5.73 percent to 4,603 yen. The unicorn investor will announce its annual earnings later in the day, with analysts expecting extremely tough figures. Toyota fell 2.21 percent to 2,036.0 yen a day after announcing record full-year net profit but issuing cautious forecasts.