Major stock markets in the Gulf rose on Wednesday, tracking Asian shares higher, after U.S. President Donald Trump said he had no plans to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and hinted at lower tariffs for China.

On Tuesday, Trump backed off from threats to fire Powell after days of intensifying criticisms of the central bank chief for not cutting interest rates.

The president also reiterated that he wanted a deal with China, following which tariffs would not be anywhere near 145%, and said he would set the terms of the deal if Beijing did not enter talks.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index gained 0.8%, led by a 0.7% rise in Al Rajhi Bank and a 2.8% increase in ACWA Power Company.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday lowered its 2025 GDP growth forecast for Saudi Arabia, while flagging headwinds for the broader region, including a more gradual resumption of oil production.

Dubai's main share index added 0.3%, with blue-chip developer Emaar Properties rising 0.8%.

Elsewhere, Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (du) edged 0.1% higher. The company on Tuesday announced a 2 billion-dirham ($544.5 million) hyper-scale data centre deal with Microsoft.

The Abu Dhabi index was up 0.4%.

Oil prices, a catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets, climbed more than 1%, extending Tuesday's gains, as investors weighed a fresh round of U.S. sanctions on Iran, a drop in U.S. crude stocks and a softer tone from Trump towards the Fed.

The Qatari index rose 0.5%, helped by a 0.6% rise in Qatar Islamic Bank. ($1 = 3.6729 UAE dirham)

(Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy)