Gulf stock markets fall, telecom firm Etisalat lifts Abu Dhabi

Dubai

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Most Gulf stock markets fell early yesterday after oil prices and global equities pulled back, but telecommunications firm Etisalat supported Abu Dhabi’s bourse ahead of expected foreign fund inflows into the stock.

Etisalat surged 5.9 per cent, lifting the Abu Dhabi index 0.6pc, after the firm said yesterday it would allow foreign and institutional investors to own its shares from Sept. 15 in a long-awaited move.

Analysts say this is likely to prompt index compiler MSCI to include the second-biggest telecommunications operator in the Gulf in its emerging markets benchmark. MSCI will announce the details of its next quarterly review on Nov. 12.

All other Gulf markets were negative after oil futures fell about 2pc on Friday as traders shrugged off a drop in the number of US rigs drilling for oil and focused instead on a supply glut and declining share prices on Wall Street.

Dubai’s index fell 1.2pc with most stocks in the red. Developer DAMAC, the most traded company, was down 0.3pc.

Qatar’s bourse lost 0.8pc, also falling broadly. Oman slipped 0.1pc and Kuwait’s index was down 0.3pc.

Kuwait-listed shares in GFH, the Bahrain-based investment firm, tumbled 5.4pc after GFH said its board of directors had approved the voluntary delisting of its shares from the Kuwait Stock Exchange. 

The company said this would focus trading on its home listing and the main secondary market for its shares, Dubai, where volume is highest. In Dubai, GFH fell
1.5pc.