Gulf stock exchanges fall ahead of US inflation data, and Egypt continues losses for the third session

Gulf stock exchanges closed lower on Thursday as investors awaited key US inflation data scheduled to be released tomorrow, Friday, to assess the potential path of interest rates from the Federal Reserve.
The main index in Qatar fell 0.1%, affected by losses in the energy, financial, real estate and industrial sectors, as Milaha shares fell 2.3% and the International Islamic Bank fell 1.4%.
In Abu Dhabi, the index fell for the fourth session in a row and closed down 0.1%, with Aldar Properties shares declining 1.1% and First Abu Dhabi Bank, the largest bank in the Emirates, declining 0.6%.
Dubai’s main index did not record any significant movement, with Commercial Bank of Dubai shares rising 4.4% and Dubai Financial Market rising 3.5%.
Al-Ansari Financial Services shares fell 1.9%, recording the largest daily decline in more than two months, while National Central Cooling Company shares fell 3.9%, with the shares of the two companies trading without the right to dividends.
The February personal consumption expenditures price index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, is expected to be released tomorrow, Friday.
Since most Gulf currencies are pegged to the dollar, they usually follow any change in US monetary policy.
In Cairo, the main index of the Egyptian Stock Exchange fell 2.4%, extending losses for the third session in a row, with almost all stocks declining.
“Fawry” shares for banking technology and electronic payments and the shares of Commercial International Bank fell by 6.5% and 3.1%, respectively.