Gulf markets end mixed, Saudi edges up

Dubai : Gulf stock markets were mostly mixed in narrow ranges yesterday with Saudi Arabia’s index edging up 0.1 per cent on the back of petrochemical shares. 

Petrochemical companies were boosted by Brent crude oil hitting a 2 1/2-year high of $69.29 a barrel overnight. Thirteen of the sector’s 14 stocks rose.

PetroRabigh, which has also been buoyed this week by news of the start-up of its Phase II expansion project, added 5.6pc in heavy trade.

Dubai’s index edged down 0.1pc. Second-tier real estate firm Deyaar, the most heavily traded stock, surged 3.5pc.

But Union Properties fell 1.0pc in active trade after saying it was in the final stage of selling its entire stake in Emicool, a district cooling service provider. It was not specific about how it would use proceeds of the sale, merely saying it would strengthen its focus on core operations and enter new sectors.

In Bahrain, Ithmaar Holding surged 6.5pc after saying it had obtained approval from Bahrain’s central bank to list its shares in Dubai. Shares in Bahrain’s Khaleeji Commercial Bank jumped after they listed in Dubai last month.

Egypt’s index gained 0.2pc as GB Auto surged 5.5pc after saying Al Olayan Saudi Investment Company had bought 1.19 million shares of the company, bringing its stake to 5.05pc.

Qatar rose for a fifth straight day on the back of buying by foreign investors seeking attractive dividend yields. The Qatari index rose 0.5 per cent in active trade. Exchange data showed foreign investors were net buyers of stocks by a substantial margin, accounting for 33.7pc of buy orders and 21.8pc of sell orders.