Mideast Stocks: Gulf Stocks in red as oil declines ahead of Fed minutes

Mideast Stocks: Gulf Stocks in red as oil declines ahead of Fed minutes

Gulf stock markets fell on Wednesday in early trade, amid a decline in oil prices as investors kept their eyes peeled for the minutes of a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting that is likely to shed light on the central bank's next interest rate hike.

Brent crude futures for April delivery fell 30 cents to $82.75 a barrel by 0721 GMT.

Investors will be closely watching as the Fed is slated to release the minutes of its latest meeting on Wednesday, which will give a glimpse of how high officials are projecting interest rates to rise after recent data showed stronger-than-expected U.S. employment and consumer prices.

Monetary policy in the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is usually guided by Fed policy decisions as most regional currencies are pegged to the U.S. dollar, exposing the region to a direct impact from any monetary tightening by the central bank.

The Qatari Stock index fell 0.7%, dragged down by losses in financials, with the Gulf's largest lender, Qatar National Bank, and Sharia-compliant lender, Masraf Al Rayan, dropping 1.3% and 1.4%, respectively.

Among other stocks, Qatar Insurance, the biggest insurer in the Gulf, plunged nearly 5% after it swung to a loss of 648.1 million riyals ($177.56 million) in fiscal