Saudi equities ended Monday trading muted, with the Tadawul All Share Index closing 0.02% in the green as markets shifted their focus to the US Federal Reserve's highly anticipated interest rate decision on Wednesday.
The Fed is widely expected to hold the interest rates steady at its 3.50% to 3.75% range. Market watchers are also anticipating US Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's comments regarding clues on the group's next rate moves.
"A lack of de-escalation over the next 48 hours should also keep pressure on the Federal Reserve to sound hawkish on Wednesday. In our preview, we explain why we expect rates to remain on hold, but also why oil has firmly reclaimed a central role in shaping monetary policy expectations. We also suspect that Chair Kevin Warsh's dislike of forward guidance raises markets' perceptions of meeting-day surprise risks. That could encourage precautionary USD buying ahead of the announcement. Markets currently price 8bp for this meeting and 41bp by year-end," ING said in a note.
In other news, oil prices declined as Iran and the US paused their back-and-forth attacks against each other. However, the Middle Eastern country noted that it is not looking to restart peace talks with the US, media reports said.
Back at home, Sport Clubs Co. (SASE:6018) entered into a lease deal for the future opening of two new Body Masters and Body Motions-branded sports clubs in Saudi Arabia. Shares of the fitness center operator closed 0.89% in the green.
Meanwhile, Saudi Tadawul Group (SASE:1111) ticked down 0.83% as it logged a decline in its net profit and revenue for the six months ended June 30. The bourse operator mainly attributed the decline to a decrease in operating revenues in the first half.