By Ateeq Shariff
Feb 15 (Reuters) - Most stock markets in the Middle East
ended higher on Wednesday, with the Egyptian index extending
gains and the Abu Dhabi bourse retreating after a drop in oil
prices.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index climbed 0.7%, with Dr
Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical Services leaping 5.2% and
Riyad Bank closing 2.7% higher.
Dubai's main share index added 0.1%, helped by a
3.9% jump in Emaar Development a day after it
reported a rise in annual net profit.
Emaar Development, the real estate arm of blue-chip
developer Emaar Properties , posted a net profit of
3.81 billion dirhams ($1.04 billion), up from 3.24 billion
dirhams year ago.
Egypt's blue-chip index gained 0.5%, trading close
to an about 5-year high.
Egyptians and Arabs were net buyers of the stocks during the
session and non-Arab foreigners were the net sellers, according
to data on the exchange website.
Last week, Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly
confirmed that Egypt plans to sell government stakes in 32
companies starting in the first quarter of this year until the
end of the first quarter of 2024.
In Abu Dhabi, the index lost 0.3%, driven down by
a 0.3% decrease in conglomerate International Holding .
The Abu Dhabi stock bourse remained volatile, while
uncertainty increased regarding the developments in oil markets,
said Ahmed Negm, head of market research MENA at XS.com.
Oil - a key catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets -
dropped for a second day as an industry report pointed to ample
supplies in the United States and expectations of further
interest rate hikes sparked concern over fuel demand and the
economic outlook. The Qatari index , which traded after a session's
break, advanced 0.6%, buoyed by a 5.3% jump in Qatar Islamic
Bank .
However, Qatar National Bank , the Gulf's biggest
lender, dropped 1.5% as the stock traded ex-dividend.
According to Nejm, the Qatari market stabilized to a certain
extent while natural gas prices stopped dropping during the last
few days, but remained exposed to the downside.
SAUDI ARABIA rose 0.7% to 10,573
ABU DHABI fell 0.3% to 9,990
DUBAI added 0.1% to 3,464
QATAR gained 0.6% to 10,450
EGYPT up 0.5% to 17,523
BAHRAIN eased 0.1% to 1,937
OMAN rose 0.3% to 4,633
KUWAIT climbed 0.7% to 8,246
($1 = 3.6729 UAE dirham)
(Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru)
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