Most stock markets in the Gulf closed higher on Thursday, led by the Saudi index, joining a global rally as investors cheered the U.S. Federal Reserve’s indication that it will still deliver three rate cuts this year. The Fed kept borrowing costs unchanged on Wednesday and signaled they still expect to ease interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point by the end of 2024.

LONDON: A surprise bumper rate hike by Turkiye’s central bank on Thursday boosted the country’s international sovereign bonds, lifted the lira off its recent lows and bolstered banking stocks, accordig to Reuters.

The deficit is now expected to be in excess of five percent of gross domestic product (GDP), Thomas Cazenave, minister for public accounts, told broadcaster Franceinfo

Sterling fell after the Bank of England (BoE) on Thursday kept its benchmark interest rate on hold as expected, while the Swiss franc fell to a multi-month low after the Swiss National Bank (SNB) surprised markets by cutting interest rates.

Sterling fell on Thursday after the Bank of England kept interest rates unchanged and Governor Andrew Bailey said Britain’s economy is “moving in the right direction” for the central bank to start cutting interest rates.

In a preliminary report, the Finance Ministry said that Kuwait stayed in black ink with Japan for 16 years and one month