(Reporting by Shamsuddin Mohd in Bengaluru; Editing by Alison Williams)
By Shamsuddin Mohd
March 27 (Reuters) - Gulf stock markets were mostly
subdued on Monday, with banking shares taking the biggest hit
across the markets as investors in the region were cautious
despite some gains in oil prices and an easing of global banking
stability fears.
Sentiment among investors remained pessimistic as concerns
around the banking sector’s woes remain in investors’ minds,
said Fadi Reyad, Chief Market Analyst at CAPEX.com MENA.
Oil prices - a key catalyst for Gulf financial markets -
rose on Monday after a halt to oil exports from Iraqi Kurdistan
via Turkey and moves to contain a potential banking crisis, with
Brent crude futures gaining $1.16, or 1.6%, at $76.15 a
barrel by 1210 GMT.
Abu Dhabi's share index dropped 0.8%, in its
third day in the red, dragged down by a 0.3% decline in UAE's
largest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank .
Dubai's main share index declined 0.7%, extending
losses to a second consecutive session, led by drops in its
financial stocks, with Emirates NBD Bank , UAE's
largest lender, decreasing 1.9% and Dubai Islamic Bank tumbling 2.1%.
The Qatari benchmark index also fell 0.3%, ending a
four day rally, weighed down by a 1.2% dive in Qatar National
Bank , the Gulf's biggest bank by assets, and a 0.8%
retreat in chemical makers Industries Qatar .
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index closed flat, as heavy
losses in material sectors were capped by gains in healthcare
stocks, with Dr. Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical Services gaining 3.8% but Sabic Agri-Nutrients , which was
trading ex-dividend, recorded its sharpest intraday decline in
over three years, to close 8.3% lower.
Index heavyweight Saudi Aramco also fell 0.2%.
Aramco said on Monday it has raised its multi-billion dollar
investment in China by finalising and upgrading a planned joint
venture in northeast China and acquiring an expanded stake in a
privately controlled petrochemical group.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index , closed
0.2% lower, with index heavyweight Commercial International Bank
Egypt shedding 0.4% and EFG Hermes Holdings losing 2.9%.
The country's lone cigarette maker, Eastern Company , however, surged 7.4% after on Sunday it revised the
price of some products.
SAUDI ARABIA was flat at 9,423
ABU DHABI down 0.8% to 9,423
DUBAI slid 0.7% to 3,326
QATAR eased 0.3% to 10,101
EGYPT lost 0.2% to 15,950
BAHRAIN declined 0.8% to 1,878
OMAN was up 0.2% 4,853
KUWAIT slipped 0.2% to 7,767
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