Doha: Qatar Exchange pursued its upswing trend yesterday, adding 92.12 points (or 1.09 percent) to advance to 8,534.78 points from 8,442.66 on Monday. Among the top gainers were Qatar National Bank which was up 1.29 percent to QR133.80, Industries Qatar rose 4.02 percent to QR162.90, Masraf Al Rayan gained 0.93 percent to QR24.90 and Qatar Navigation was up by 0.67 percent to QR60.30. The consumer goods and services sector index gained 0.39 points, the industrial sector added 2.44 points while the insurance sector lost 0.14 points.
Meanwhile, Dubai’s stock index closed above 2,000 points for the first time since November 2009, boosted by optimism over corporate earnings, while most other Gulf markets also ended in positive territory.
The Dubai index advanced 1.8 percent to 2,021 points, breaking above a psychologically important level and taking year-to-date gains to 24.6 percent. It is the best-performing market in the region in 2013, thanks to increased optimism towards the emirate’s economy as its real estate market recovers from the 2009-2011 crash.
Interest was mostly centred around mid-cap stocks, with Air Arabia 4.1 percent higher and Dubai Investments up 3.6 percent. They were the two most heavily traded shares. However, financial stocks continued their recent rise, with Emirates NBD, which gained 2.5 percent, at a nine-month high, and Dubai Islamic Bank, up 2.0 percent, flirting with a three-year peak.
In Abu Dhabi, banking shares also performed well, with Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank advancing 4.9 percent to its highest close since August 2008 and Union National Bank up 4.2 percent. The Abu Dhabi index climbed 1.1 percent to its highest close since October 2009.
Kuwait also continued its upward trend, gaining 0.5 percent. It was the bourse’s third straight gain and a fresh 29-month high.
“The market continues to push forth towards new boundaries,” said Fouad Darwish, head of brokerage at Global Investment House.
Egypt’s benchmark rose 0.4 percent, boosted by a 1.5 percent gain by heavyweight Orascom Construction.
The firm said in a statement on Tuesday that it was in advanced talks with the Egyptian Tax Authority over the probe into alleged tax evasion in the sale of Orascom Building, a subsidiary, to French firm Lafarge.
Any resolution of the dispute, if it is perceived by the market as fair to Orascom, could help to repair investor confidence in authorities’ attitude to the market as a whole - besides potentially clearing the way for a buyout offer for Orascom shares from its Amsterdam-listed affiliate to go ahead.
In Saudi Arabia, PetroRabigh dropped 2.4 percent, compounding the 9.9 percent slump it suffered in the previous session on poor first-quarter earnings and its warning that second-quarter profit will be hit by a shutdown of its ethane cracker for maintenance. The Saudi index closed flat. Oman’s index snapped a five-session losing streak, gaining 0.2 percent.
HIGHLIGHTS
DUBAI : The index jumped 1.8 percent to 2,021 points.
ABU DHABI: The benchmark climbed 1.1 percent to 3,188 points.
QATAR: The benchmark gained 1.1 percent to 8,535 points.
KUWAIT: The measure rose 0.5 percent to 7,174 points.
EGYPT: The measure rose 0.4 percent to 5,237 points.
SAUDI ARABIA: The index ended flat at 7,124 points.
OMAN: The index edged up 0.2 percent to 6,143 points.
BAHRAIN: The index edged down 0.2 percent to 1,086 points.
QNA/Reuters
