Bahrain index edged up 0.1 per cent

Dubai : Middle Eastern stock markets rose yesterday, encouraged by an overnight jump in oil prices which boosted Saudi Arabian petrochemical shares in particular, and strength in Asian bourses after strong Chinese trade data. Bahrain index edged up 0.1 per cent to 1,123 points.

The Saudi index climbed 0.6pc in the heaviest volume for three weeks. In the petrochemical sector, Sipchem jumped 5.5pc. Yansab, which was due to release first-quarter earnings after the close, gained 3.5pc.

National Commercial Bank, the biggest lender, rose 0.7pc. It posted a 1pc rise in profit to 2.63 billion riyals ($702 million). SICO Bahrain had forecast 2.30bn riyals and Deutsche Bank, 2.23bn riyals.

Dubai’s index added 0.8pc to 3,501 points as heavyweight Emaar Properties gained 2.7pc. The index is technically bullish after closing above its 200-day average on Tuesday for the first time since August.

Bourse operator Dubai Financial Market surged 5.5pc to 1.53 dirhams in its heaviest volume since October as it broke technical resistance on its March peak of 1.47 dirhams.

But Union Properties, the most heavily traded stock, fell 1.3pc after saying its board had approved increasing its capital to 7bn dirhams ($1.9bn); it did not say how capital would be boosted.

Abu Dhabi rose 1.1pc largely because of First Gulf Bank, which jumped 3.3pc.

Egypt’s index gained 1.2pc in modest volume. Global Telecom climbed 3.1pc; Russia’s Interfax news agency quoted a presentation for an upcoming eurobond issue by its parent VimpelCom as saying VimpelCom would use the proceeds of the issue to pay off a shareholder loan to Global Telecom.

In other markets, Qatar index remained flat at 10,246 points, while Kuwait rose 0.6pc to 5,306 points. Meanwhile, Oman index edged up 0.04pc to 5,731 points.