QSI fell 0.5% according to early trade numbers on Tuesday.

Primary stock markets of several prominent Gulf nations experienced an increase ahead of the expected US inflation data due on Wednesday, though Qatar’s index declined by 0.5%, Reuters reported.

The numbers from the early trading session on Tuesday, come just hours before the inflation data could potentially contribute to a quicker conclusion of Federal Reserve interest rate hikes.

In the case of Qatar, most of the stocks listed on the index displayed negative performance, including Commercial Bank, which witnessed a decrease of 2.4%.

The majority of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar, have their currencies pegged to the US dollar and are influenced by the monetary policy decisions made by the Federal Reserve.

This makes the region vulnerable to the direct consequences of tightening monetary measures in the world’s largest economy, with Wednesday’s data expected to impact the regional stock market.

On Tuesday, the benchmark index of Saudi Arabia recorded a gain of 0.4% primarily due to a 1.1% increase in the stock of Dr Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical Services.

In a separate development, Saudi Arabia provided $2 billion to the central bank of Pakistan, as confirmed by the finance minister of the South Asian nation on Tuesday. This financial assistance serves as an additional support to Pakistan’s struggling economy following an earlier bailout from the International Monetary Fund.

Meanwhile, Dubai’s main share index saw a modest increase of 0.1%. The index reached its highest level since 2015, primarily attributed to a 2.7% surge in the shares of budget airline Air Arabia.

Oil prices, which play a significant role in influencing the Gulf region’s financial markets, slightly rose, recovering some of the losses observed in the previous session.

Traders were particularly focused on supply reductions implemented by major oil exporters such as Saudi Arabia and Russia, as well as the impact of a weaker dollar.