Doha: Qatar Exchange ended in the green when trading closed yesterday at 10,341.07 points, up 15.35 points or 0.15 percent from the previous closing of 10,325.72. The top gainers were International Islamic whose share was up 1.03 percent to QR59, Qatar National Cement Co added 0.97 percent to QR104, Qatar Navigation gained 1.02 percent to QR88.80 and Ooredoo increased by 0.44 percent to QR135.50.
Meanwhile, most Gulf bourses fell as oil markets reacted to the breakthrough nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, which caused the price of Brent crude to slip 1.8 percent.
The deal is not intended to let more of Iran’s oil into the market, the White House said, but an easing of the ban on European shipping insurance may help smooth crude exports to Iran’s big Asian customers.
Gulf oil exporters, Saudi Arabia in particular, have profited from tightness in the oil market caused by the sanctions against Iran. So fears of a supply increase from Iran triggered profit-taking in regional stock markets, said Marwan Shurrab, fund manager and head of trading at Vision Investments. “The expectations of higher oil prices going forwards will be muted,” he said.
The indexes in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait both fell 0.5 percent. Some analysts, however, believe the stock markets have overreacted and could bounce back soon. “I think it was just a knee-jerk reaction that was not based on any fundamentals,” said John Sfakianakis, chief investment strategist at Saudi investment firm MASIC.
The deal with Iran only marked the beginning of a long process and there is no immediate threat of increased supply, he noted. Even if Iranian oil does come back to the market in large quantities, it will not necessarily cause a steep enough fall in prices to damage the big Gulf economies, other analysts said. “I think the markets will reassess the situation in the coming days, if not tomorrow,” Sfakianakis said.
Egypt’s index posted its biggest daily loss since October 28, falling 1.2 percent and continuing a decline triggered by a series of deadly political clashes last week.
Dubai’s index declined 0.3 percent as it continued to trade in a narrow band just below the major resistance level of 2,900 points days ahead of the November 27 decision on whether it will host the Expo 2020 world fair. The emirate hopes that by winning its bid, it will be able to boost economic growth and solidify its status as a regional hub for trade, logistics, travel and tourism.
HIGHLIGHTS
SAUDI ARABIA: The index fell 0.5 percent to 8,347 points.
EGYPT: The index fell 1.2 percent to 6,356 points.
DUBAI: The index fell 0.3 percent to 2,869 points.
ABU DHABI: The index slipped 0.2 percent to 3,815 points.
BAHRAIN: The index fell 0.3 percent to 1,194 points.
OMAN: The index slid 0.2 percent to 6,752 points.
KUWAIT: The index fell 0.5 percent to 7,837 points.
Reuters
