Gulf bourses end higher as Fed cut hopes rise

Stock markets in the Gulf ended higher on Sunday, led by the Qatar index, after slowing U.S. jobs growth in April raised hopes of early interest rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The Labor Department's employment report showed the U.S. economy added fewer jobs than expected, while the unemployment rate ticked higher and wage growth unexpectedly cooled.

The report prompted investors to raise bets the Fed would implement its first rate reduction in September.

Most Gulf currencies are pegged to the dollar, and any U.S. monetary policy changes are usually followed by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

The Qatari benchmark index GNRI bounced back after three straight sessions of losses and ended 0.8% higher with all sectors in the positive territory.

Qatar National Bank QNBK, the region's largest lender, rose 1.2% and Industries Qatar IQCD gained 0.7%.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index TASI was up for a second straight session and rose 0.2%, lifted by gains in finance, industry, consumer discretionary and energy sectors.

Al Rajhi Bank 1120, the world's largest Islamic lender, and Saudi National Bank 1180, the kingdom's biggest lender climbed 1.5% each.

Among other gainers, Thob Al Aseel 4012 advanced 3.5%, after the garments supplier reported a 44% rise in quarterly net profit.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's non-oil business activity grew at a steady rate in April despite a slowdown in new order growth, a survey showed on Sunday, with domestic demand driving output.