By: Mahmoud Gamal

Mubasher: The GCC markets are waiting for new stimuli, approaching the distribution period, to be able to regain confidence, according to analysts.

The market rose on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve raised the interest rate, as expected. Five GCC banks increased their interest rate as well after the Fed's move.

The interest hike's decision did not have a negative impact on the GCC market on Thursday, as the indices were at support levels which pushed them to a positive rebound, technical analyst Ahmed Aql told Mubasher.

He added that some investors will tend in the coming period to build new positions in stocks which achieved good annual results.

The analyst noted that the stability of the oil prices above $50 will support the companies' results and performance which were lately affected by its price.

Moreover, technical analyst Mohamed Al Azmy said that the decline of prices would encourage some portfolios and funds to re-enter to build investment positions.

The analyst added that the markets need to stay stable for a couple of sessions to attract institutional investments.

Tadawul closed Thursday adding 1.3% to 6,922 points, the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) rose 1.2% to 3,521 points, while the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) went up 1.1% to 4,425 points.

The Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) levelled up 0.2% to 6,811 points, the Muscat Securities Market (MSM) inched up 0.3% to 5,668 points, while the Bahrain Bourse (BHB) increased 0.3% to 1,375 points.

The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) rose 0.7% to 10,361 points.

Translated by: Sara Ghali