(Corrects second paragraph to say 'Emaar Development' not
'Emaar Properties'.)
March 6 (Reuters) - Most Gulf stock markets rose in
early trade on Monday, with the Qatari bourse leading the gains,
while the Saudi index was muted amid falling oil prices.
Dubai's main share index gained 1%, boosted by a
14.9% surge in Emaar Development after announcing
cash dividend of 52 fils per share for the year 2022.
The real estate developer is on course for its biggest
intraday gain ever and the surge added 2.9 billion dirham
($789.67 million) to company's market value.
In Abu Dhabi, the index added 0.6%, led by a 0.6%
increase in International Holding Co (IHC) , as the
conglomerate intends to invest in Presight AI Holding's initial
public offering (IPO).
Abu Dhabi artificial intelligence firm G42 plans to float
its big data analytics unit Presight.ai via an 1.82 billion
dirham ($495.6 million) IPO and list its shares on the local
stock exchange.
Elsewhere, IHC's unit Alpha Dhabi Holding advanced 2.7%.
The Qatari index , which traded after a session's
break, climbed 1.2%, with most of the stocks trading in the
positive territory including petrochemical maker Industries
Qatar , which was up 2.3%.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index , however, traded
flat.
Oil prices - a key catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets
- slipped after China set a lower-than-expected target for
economic growth this year at around 5%, and as investors
cautiously awaited U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's
testimony this week.
($1 = 3.6724 UAE dirham)
(Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi
Aich)
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