Mideast Stocks: Most Gulf markets fall on weak oil; Saudi gains

Mideast Stocks: Most Gulf markets fall on weak oil; Saudi gains

Most stock markets in the Gulf ended lower on Sunday, in response to Friday's fall in oil prices, although the Saudi index bucked the trend to close higher. Oil prices - a catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets - slumped more than 2% on Friday on investor scepticism over the depth of OPEC+ supply cuts and concern about sluggish global manufacturing activity. OPEC+ producers agreed on Thursday to remove around 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil from the global market in the first quarter of next year, with the total including a rollover of Saudi Arabia and Russia's 1.3 million bpd of current voluntary cuts. The Qatari benchmark eased 0.1%, with Qatar Islamic Bank losing 0.6%. Saudi Arabia's benchmark index gained 0.4%, with oil giant Saudi Aramco rising 0.5% and Arabian Pipes Co advancing 5.4%. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Friday the risks of hiking interest rates too much and slowing the economy more than necessary have become "more balanced" with the risks of not hiking enough to control inflation. Monetary policy in the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is usually guided by Fed decisions as most regional currencies are pegged to the U.S. dollar. Outside