Four markets end the week lower; Muscat biggest loser

On the day's trading, five markets rebounded â€' the DFM closed up 1% following its 1.4% decline yesterday.

In Abu Dhabi, the ADX rose by 0.92% today, while Muscat climbed slightly by 0.56% after losses of 3.6% yesterday. Doha and Kuwait also rose slightly by 0.08% and 0.04% respectively, while the Bahraini and Saudi markets both ended the day down, by 0.65% and 0.37% respectively.

UAE: weekly losses of Dhs2.2bn

The sharp decline registered yesterday made it attractive to many local investors to buy shares at low prices today, which was reflected on the markets, which ended up.

In the UAE markets there was a considerable improvement in trading value. UAE shares regained Dhs6.8bn from yesterday's losses, ending the down by a (slightly) healthier looking Dhs2.2bn.

Share values also declined, to Dhs846.8bn, while the weekly value declined by 57% to Dhs4.4bn from Dhs10.4bn last week.

The DFM weekly trading value reached Dhs2.1bn, representing 48.4% from the total trading, while the ADX accounted for Dhs2.2bn.

DFM regains part of its loses

The lower prices attracted local investors today, especially to leading shares such as Emaar, which rose 1.4% to Dhs10.50. It traded Dhs102.3m out of a total trading of Dhs600m.

EmiratesNBD also rose, by 0.85% and Amlak by 3.4%, while Dubai Investments rose by 1.8% after one of its top executives, Khalid Bin Kalban, said that DIC will post Dhs1bn profit in H1.

ADX: record profits for Aldar

The ADX was pushed upwards thanks to support from the real estate, industry and energy sectors, with improving trading value rising above Dhs770m. This included Dhs188.6m for Aldar, which announced an increase of 186% for H1 profits.

Saudi Arabia: Global sets SR168.5 price for Sabic

The Tadawul failed to curb its losses, ending the week down by 3.8% after pressure from all sectors, with some exceptions.

A report by Global Investment House recommended buying Sabic's share at SR168.5, which pushed it up, along with other related shares such as Petrorabigh, which rose by 0.45%. Sabic itself rose by 0.58%, to SR129.25, still well below Global's recommended price.

The banking sector continued to register a sharp decline, except for Sabb, which rose by 4.3%. Samba lost 4% of its price. The telecoms sector also continued its downward trend, with STC falling 4.3%, Zain 1%, and Mobily 0.50%.

Kuwait market pushed by telecoms sector

The Kuwaiti market ended its day slightly up, amid improvements in trading value of KD114.3m and 233.4 million shares.

During the session, Zain rose by its maximum limit, before finally closing up 6.4%. Wataniya also rose, by 2.5%, after its second quarter profits rose 47.2% to KD26.5m from KD18m last year.

Al Safwa Holding Group's profits rose 148.7%, to reach KD38.3m from KD15.4m last year, but ended the day down 4.1%.

Muscat market rebounds

After heavy loses yesterday, Muscat rose by 1% today, thanks to support from the banking sector, particularly Muscat Bank, which traded OR1.7m out of total trading of OR7.9m and rose by 1.2%.

Other shares regained some of their losses, including Sohar Bank, up 2.5%, National Bank, up 0.50%, Gulfar, up 3.6% and Omantel, which rose 0.35%.

Doha slightly rises

The Doha market index rose slightly, amid low trading, with the value reaching QR360m and 7.5 million shares only.

Al Rayan Bank, which registered the highest value among all shares, traded only 827,000 shares. But it closed unchanged.

Qatar Industries rose by 0.50%, Doha Bank by 1.2%, Islamic Bank by 0.68% and Islamic Insurance by 1.6% after a 101% increase in H1 profits.

Bahrain: United Gulf Bank pressures the index

The Bahrain market continued its downward trend, although trading value improved to BD2.5m and 4.1 million shares. This included 1.9 million shares for United Gulf Bank, which register red the biggest decline on the market, falling 7.2%.

Batelco's share also declined, by 3.8%, while Al Khaleej for Construction rose 5% and Arig 2.2%, Al Salam Bank 1.5% and Bahrain National Bank by 1.4%.