Doha/dubai: Qatar Exchange continued its upswing trend yesterday, adding 57.98 points (0.60 percent) to advance to 9,764.55 points from 9,706.57 on Thursday. Among the top gainers were Industries Qatar which was up 1.01 percent to QR159.50, Masraf Al Rayan rose 1.95 percent to QR28.80, Doha Bank gained 0.95 percent to QR53 and Qatar Navigation (Milaha) was up by 1.67 percent to QR79.30.
The banking and financial sector index was up 0.75 points, the insurance sector index was up 0.01 points and the industrial sector index rose by 0.91 points.
Egypt’s bourse surged to a five-month high as signs that supporters of deposed president Mohammed Mursi might be willing to compromise with the interim government raised hopes for a political resolution after weeks of street violence.
A spokesman for a pro-Mursi delegation said it wanted a solution that would “respect all popular desires”, a sign that supporters could be backing away from demands to reinstate Mursi.
Also, the weekend passed without major violence. Many investors had been concerned there could be more bloodshed if the army took action against Mursi supporters protesting on the streets; security forces shot dead 80 of them a week ago.
“There has been a slight fall in the political temperature in the past couple of days - we haven’t seen really serious clashes such as those of early July,” said Simon Kitchen, strategist at EFG-Hermes in Cairo. “The investment outlook on Egypt is improving but remains volatile.”
Cairo’s benchmark index rose 2.9 percent to 5,530 points, its highest close since February 26, making its largest one-day gain in nearly four weeks. Trading volume spiked.
The market may get a boost this week from the buyout of Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) previously Cairo’s largest stock by market value, was removed from the main index last week after Dutch-listed OCI NV acquired more than 97 percent of the Egyptian firm in a cash-or-shares tender offer. OCI NV said the offer would be settled on Aug. 5; some of the money may go back into the stock market.
A surprise cut of the main official overnight interest rate in Egypt by 50 basis points late on Thursday also supported investor sentiment. Egypt’s pound continued to strengthen marginally yesterday in the wake of the rate cut, though it was unclear how much the central bank was engineering the appreciation as a confidence-boosting measure.
Billions of dollars in Gulf aid promised since the army overthrew the president have begun to trickle into the currency market, easing pressure on the pound.
Local investors were net buyers of Egyptian stocks while foreigners were sellers, bourse data showed. The index appeared to stage a clean break of major technical resistance around the 5,450-point area, which capped it in May and July. The next major resistance is at the January peak of 5,884 points.
In Saudi Arabia, the index rose 0.8 percent to 7,972 points, its highest since September 2008. It closed above a major resistance at 7,944 points, the April 2012 peak; that is long-term bullish and leaves no major chart barrier before 8,782 points, the 61.8 percent retracement of the fall from January 2008.
Trading volumes were healthy despite the approach of Eid holidays later this week.
Sectors that benefit from local consumption led gains. The retail sector index and telecommunications rose 1.0 and 2.1 percent respectively; food and agriculture gained 1.5 percent.
With limited growth seen in heavyweight Saudi banks and petrochemical firms, investors are chasing mid-cap firms with higher growth outlooks.
In Kuwait, the index slipped 0.7 percent, trimming its 2013 gains to 35.4 percent. Elsewhere, underpinned by strong second-quarter earnings, Dubai’s measure rose 1.1 percent to a fresh 56-month high, while Abu Dhabi’s index gained 0.2 percent. Dubai firm Drake and Scull rose 2.6 percent in active trade.
HIGHLIGHTS
EGYPT: The index rose 2.9 percent to 5,530 points.
SAUDI ARABIA: The index rose 0.8 percent to 7,972 points.
KUWAIT: The index slipped 0.7 percent to 8,033 points.
DUBAI: The index climbed 1.1 percent to 2,624 points.
ABU DHABI: The index gained 0.2 percent to 3,931 points.
OMAN: The index gained 0.3 percent to 6,677 points.
BAHRAIN: The index slipped 0.6 percent to 1,192 points.
Reuters
