Gulf stocks rise

Dubai

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Most Middle East stock markets rose but closed well off their intra-day highs yesterday and some edged lower as investors started selling into the region’s rally, indicating sentiment was still shaky even after oil prices rebounded.

Saudi Arabia’s main index, which surged as much as 4.6 per cent early in the day, closed just 1.1pc higher.

That left the index up 11pc from a 29-month low hit last Monday, but still 15pc below its level at the end of last month.

The petrochemical sector, up 3.2pc, was the main support on Sunday after Brent oil climbed above $50 per barrel on Friday. The sector’s margins are directly affected by oil prices and leading petrochemical producer Saudi Basic Industries surged 4.0pc.

But some stocks went into the red late in the session, such as Al Tayyar Travel, which tumbled 5.8pc, and Banque Saudi Fransi, down 2.5pc.

Shakeel Sarwar, head of asset management at Securities & Investment Co (SICO) in Bahrain, said markets in the region were likely to remain jittery until oil prices stabilised.

“Right now I think the situation is so fluid, it becomes extremely difficult to build a solid investment case,” he said.

Elsewhere in the region, Dubai’s stock index closed 1.1pc higher after jumping as much as 3.2pc in early trade.

Developer DAMAC was the most traded stock, surging 7.0pc after the firm called a shareholder meeting for Sept. 15 to approve its first cash dividend of 10pc since it listed in Dubai in January.

Ports operator DP World rose 5.7pc, adding to Thursday’s 8.7pc gain. It has outperformed the market since Thursday, when the company said it might launch operations in Iran; it is one of a handful of listed logistics and transport firms in the Gulf that could benefit from the lifting of international sanctions against Iran. 

 Abu Dhabi’s index slipped 0.2pc, while Qatar  edged up 0.4pc. Egypt’s bourse slipped 0.3pc as most blue chips pulled back after rising for three sessions in a row.             

Kuwait rose 0.5pc to 5,904 points, Oman climbed 1.5pc to 5,904 points, while Bahrain     inched down 0.1pc to 1,301 points.