Mideast Stocks: Most Gulf bourses in black as investors absorb Fed minutes

Mideast Stocks: Most Gulf bourses in black as investors absorb Fed minutes

Most bourses in the Gulf rebounded on Thursday, enjoying a respite from their recent sell-off, as investors digest the U.S. Federal Reserve's firm hawkish stance on taming inflationary pressures.

The Fed's June meeting minutes showed officials rallied around an outsized rate hike, justifying the 0.75-percentage-point increase as near-term inflation outlook had deteriorated since their meeting in May.

Dubai's benchmark index advanced 1.5%, buoyed by a 5.1% jump in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties and a 1.5% gain in sharia-compliant lender Dubai Islamic Bank. The Dubai bourse rebounded after a series of price corrections as traders reacted to a global sentiment shift after Wednesday's Federal Reserve minutes, said Farah Mourad, senior market analyst of XTB MENA. "The market could see further price increases over the short term before returning to the downside."

Dubai road-toll operator Salik has appointed Ibrahim Al Haddad as chief executive officer, it said on Wednesday, in a move that showed the company was moving closer to its planned flotation. Dubai's deputy ruler, Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed, announced plans in November to turn Salik, then a division of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), into a public company. Listing it and nine other government-linked entities was intended to boost stock market activity.

The