Mideast Stocks: Middle East Equities Up Ahead of Earnings, Dubai Pulls Back From 17-Year High

 Middle East stock markets gained on Thursday as anticipation of strong blue-chip earnings offset signals that U.S. interest rates may remain high, while profit-taking dragged the Dubai index down from a 17-1/2 year high.

The Federal Reserve's lack of clear guidance on when it might lower borrowing costs hampered investor sentiment in a region where monetary policy typically mirrors the U.S. due to currency pegs.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index gained 0.1%, driven by investor enthusiasm ahead of major earnings announcements from chemical company SABIC and oil giant Aramco due early next week. Aramco rose 0.3%, while Bupa Arabia for Cooperative Insurance jumped 4.3% after appointing a chairman.

Elsewhere, Saudi National Bank, the kingdom's biggest lender by assets, advanced 1.5% as investors bought stock to qualify for dividends ahead of the August 3 eligibility date.

Dubai's main share index retreated 0.8%, snapping six straight sessions of gains as investors locked in profits following a nearly two-decade high in multiple sessions.

All sectors closed in the red, led by a 1.3% decline in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties. The Abu Dhabi index added 0.2%, lifted by selective buying amid a mixed earnings season.

Top lender First Abu Dhabi Bank advanced 1.7%. Qatar's stock index rose 1% to 11,262 riyals, a level last seen over two and a half years ago.

Qatar Islamic Bank led the rally, gaining over 3%. Brokerage HSBC lifted its price target to 29.4 riyals from 25.4 riyals.

Qatar's Ooredoo surged 5.2%, touching a nearly 11-year peak after the telecom giant posted upbeat second-quarter earnings and held full-year outlook steady.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index jumped 1% to hit a fresh record high, led by a 1.5% gain in Talaat Moustafa Group Holding.

SAUDI ARABIA gained 0.1% to 10,920

ABU DHABI added 0.2% to 10,371

DUBAI retreated 0.8% to 6,159

QATAR rose 1% to 11,262

EGYPT climbed 1% to 34,198

BAHRAIN was flat at 1,956

OMAN jumped 0.7% to 4,781

KUWAIT advanced 0.4% to 9,294