Feb 23 (Reuters) - Major Gulf bourses closed lower on Thursday as investors remained cautious after the U.S. Federal Reserve's minutes from latest meeting reinforced a hawkish tone, although the Egyptian index bucked the trend.
Most Gulf currencies are pegged to the U.S. dollar, while Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar usually mirror U.S. monetary policy changes.
With steepest intraday decline since Jan. 17, the index witnessed losses in almost all sectors, led by financial and energy stocks.
The gulf region's largest lender Qatar National Bank (QNBK.QA) declined 2.1% and Qatar Islamic Bank (QISB.QA) plunged 9.6%, the sharpest intraday slide since March 2020 as the stock traded ex-dividend.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index (.EGX30) rose 1.4%, snapping its previous session losses.