Mideast Stocks: Egypt outperforms; Saudi Arabia extends losses
06/02/2023 13:08
Feb 6 (Reuters) - Most stock markets in the Middle East
closed higher on Monday as oil prices edged up, with Egypt
outperforming after the central bank reported an increase in the
country's net foreign reserves.
Oil prices - a key catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets
- drifted higher, snapping a six-session losing streak, with
Brent crude LCOc1 futures up 56 cents, or 0.70%, to $80.50 a
barrel at 1130 GMT. O/R
International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih
Birol said China's recovery remained a driver for oil prices.
In Abu Dhabi, the benchmark stock index .FTFADGI settled
0.7% higher, gaining for a sixth session in a row, lifted by a
5.6% rise in American Restaurants International AMR.AD .
The Qatari Stock index .QSI rose 0.5% after Dukhan Bank
announced a listing of its shares on the Qatar Stock Exchange.
Dukhan Bank will offer more than 5.234 billion shares at
4.35 riyal per share, with a listing planned on Feb. 21.
The Qatari stock market recorded a positive performance
thanks to the solid local fundamentals, with economic activity
expected to continue improving this year, said Fadi Reyad, chief
market analyst at CAPEX.com.
"However, the declining natural gas prices could remain a
weight for local stocks," Reyad added.
Dubai's benchmark index .DFMGI rose 0.5%, rallying for a
fourth straight session as toll operator Salik Company
SALIK.DU added 2.3% and sharia-compliant lender Dubai Islamic
Bank DISB.DU increased 0.7%.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index .TASI fell for a sixth
session, edging down 0.03%, weighed down by pressure on
heavyweight financial and energy sector stocks.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index .EGX30 advanced
2%, recovering from last week's 3.2% loss, as the index was
boosted by a 3.1% gain in Commercial International Bank Egypt
COMI.CA .
Egypt's net foreign reserves rose to $34.224 billion in
January from $34.003 billion in December, the central bank
reported on Sunday.
SAUDI ARABIA .TASI down 0.03% to 10,556
ABU DHABI .FTFADGI up 0.7% to 9,918
DUBAI .DFMGI up 0.5 % at 3,400
QATAR .QSI added 0.5% to 10,711
EGYPT .EGX30 rose 2% to 16,587
BAHRAIN .BAX edged down 0.02% to 1,936
OMAN .MSX30 gained 0.3% at 4,754
KUWAIT .BKP jumped 1% to 8,238
(Reporting by Mohd Edrees in Bengaluru
Editing by Mark Potter)
((mohammad.edrees@thomsonreuters.com))