Mixed day on Gulf stock markets

Muscat, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia all rose, regaining some of the losses from the past three weeks. Muscat rose for the fourth consecutive session, by 1.3%, while the Tadawul closed up 0.31% and Kuwait Stock Exchange by 0.15%.

Dubai: foreign investors are back buying

Dubai's foreign investment funds have started buying again, following extensive selling recently, positively affecting the index. Even so, the DFM came under pressure from shares such as Emirates NBD, which fell by 3% on Sunday.

According to a DFM report, the total value of foreign buying reached Dhs191.9m out of Dhs492m for the whole market, against selling of Dhs174.5m.

Gulf investors bought shares worth Dhs80m and sold shares worth Dhs68.3m, while other Arab investors bought a total of Dhs14.6m shares and sold Dhs11.6m.

The major buying by foreigners focused on leading shares, including Emaar, which rose 0.31% to Dhs9.69, Arabtec, which closed up 0.33% to Dhs15.10, Dubai Islamic Bank, which rose 0.13% and DFM, up 0.25%.

Tamweel continued to decline, falling 4% to Dhs5.86, following rumours of corruption and charges against its top management.

Abu Dhabi: banking sector moves ahead

The ADX closed slightly down, after pressure from energy, insurance and construction shares, while Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank's share rose by 4.2%, ADIB by 1.6% and SIB by 1.3%.

Tadawul: Kingdom Holding hits record high

The Saudi market continued its upward trend for the fourth consecutive session, rising above 8,000 points following the decision to reveal institutions or individuals who own 5% or more of listed companies.

Most leading shares registered a considerable rise, including Kingdom Holding - owned by Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal - rising by 9.3% to SR8.75, the highest in its history.

Sabic also rose, by 0.84% to SR120, after trading SR484.6m out of total trading of SR4.8bn, while Kayan fell by 1.1% and Petrorabigh by 0.50%.
Arab National Bank registered the highest rise among banks, by 2.7%.

Kuwait: Zain declines with start of IPO

The Kuwait Stock Exchange continued to rise, supported by the real estate, industry and investment sectors.

Zain's first day in IPO saw its share decline by 2.3%. Zain has already launched an IPO to increase its capital by $1.2bn, valued at 100 fils per share, including 750 fils as an issuance fee.

Burgan Group and Mana Holding continued their jumps, up 8.7% and 5.2% respectively, while Agility fell by 1.7% following the decline of its H1 profits by 9.5%.

Muscat: strong rise for fourth session

Muscat's market regained many of its losses, after support from banks and services sectors, including Omantel and Muscat bank.

Omantel traded OR3.1m out of total trading of OR9.7m and rose by 2.8%, while Muscat Bank traded OR1.5m and rose by 3.1%. The sharp decline seen by the Omani market in the last three weeks has made prices of shares attractive for buying, according to analysts.

Doha and Bahrain: banks and investment shares lead the decline

Qatar Industries share pressurised the index, after falling by 0.50%, along with Qatar Islamic Bank, which also fell by 1.2%.

Investment shares led the decline in Bahrain, after being subject to profit taking. Ithmaar Bank fell by 2.1%, GFH by 1.6% and Al Baraka Banking Group by 1.3%, after two consecutive rises following a 60% rise in H1 profits.