By: Mahmoud Gamal
Mubasher: The Gulf stock markets are expected to continue their decline on Thursday, after the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) raised interest rates.
Most GCC bourses saw a negative performance on Wednesday on the back of investors’ caution.
The US Federal Reserve, which acts as the national central bank, increased its benchmark interest rate on Wednesday by 25 basis points to a 0.5% to 0.75% range.
The Fed’s decision will push investors to decrease their positions, thus pressuring the Gulf exchanges down, technical analyst Ibrahim Al-Failakawi told Mubasher.
Traders are currently investing in speculative stocks of medium-sized firm, the analyst explained. Short-term local investors are the main players in the Gulf markets, in line with the decline of foreign investors purchases following the interest rate rise, Al-Failakawi noted.
The GCC bourses are expected to maintain their sideways-to-bearish trend on Thursday, amid portfolio investors’ tendency to rearrange their positions ahead of fourth-quarter financial announcements, financial advisor Mohamed Al Shamimri told Mubasher.
Translated by: Julian Nabil
