Gulf shares gather strength, with strong rebound in Saudi Arabia

UAE regains Dhs1.6bn of losses

UAE shares regained Dhs1.6bn out of total losses of Dhs28.8bn, after Dubai Financial Market failed to retain its early momentum that that saw it rise more than 1% after strong gains for Emaar.

Meanwhile Etisalat failed to register a strong rebound and fell by more than 3%, put down to the Dhs27m robbery by a salary manger at one of its branches.

DFM fails to keep momentum

Early on, it looked like the DFM was heading for a strong rebound after yesterday's decline of 4.6%, with many buying orders being placed on Emaar. The stock climbed to Dhs8.35, while other leading shares like Arabtec, Amlak, Aman, Ajaman Bank and Dubai Islamic Bank saw strong rises.

Two hours after the start of the session, profit taking began on Emaar's share, pushing the it down to Dhs8.04, before closing at Dhs8.08, up 0.12%. Still, Emaar managed to come off of a three-year low.

Heavyweight Emirates NBD fell 1.4%, Dubai Investments 0.61%, DFM 0.57% and Tamweel down by 1.8%.

ADX: Etisalat declines on robbery case

Etisalat's 3.1% fall put strong pressure on Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, which was heading for a strong rebound.

A report by Global, recommending the Etisalat share and putting its fair price at Dhs27, failed to push the share up.

Aldar Properties rose by 2.2%, Dana Gas 0.67%, Sorouh 0.94%, Arkan 2.65%, and First Gulf Bank 7.55% after declining by 10% yesterday.

Strong rebound on Saudi market

The Saudi Tadawul witnessed the strongest rebound among all Gulf markets, with support from Sabic.

The market regained all yesterday's losses of 1.7% and much of Saturday's losses which reached 4.7%.

Sabic registered a strong rise of 7% to SR115.50, regaining yesterday's loss of 2% and much of Saturday's 8% loss.

All related petrochemical shares rose, including Saudi Group 6.1%, Kayan 6%, and Petrorabigh 5.6%.

All bar two of the 120 traded shares rose; the declines were from Saudi Chemical by 2.2% and Saudi Hollandi Bank by 0.42%. Riyadh Bank rose strongly by 4.7%, Al Rajhi 5% and Samba 2.7%.

All telecom shares registered a strong rise, including Mobily by 5.6%, Zain 4.7% and STC 3.1% to SR65.50, after Global sets its fair price at SR78.75.

Minerals company Maaden rose by almost its maximum limit, climbing by 9% to SR24, after a positive report by Credit Suisse Group, which put its fair price at SR36.57.

Kuwait: Zain supports the index

Kuwait Stock Exchange remained down, but managed to reduce its losses in the last minutes of closing, down 0.25% after a strong rise for Zain and Agility.

Zain climbed 3.7% after positive report by Global, setting its price at KD1.766. According to a Global report, Zain might face some pressure from the entry of Saudi Telecom Company to the Kuwaiti market.

Agility rose by 2.2% and Global 1.1%, while National Industries fell with the start of its IPO.

Doha: Humble rise for leading shares

Doha's rebound was very limited when compared to its losses of 2.8% yesterday.

Industries Qatar and the banking sector registered very moderate rises, including Industries Qatar 0.66%, Qatar Commercial 0.52%, Qatar Islamic 0.17%, Doha Bank 0.15 and QNB 1.8%.

Bahrain: Al Salam regain some of its losses

The rebound of Bahrain was the highest among all four markets, with support from Al Salam which regained 4.5% of yesterday's losses, which reached 9.8%.

Al Salam dominated 44% of the total shares traded, which reached 2.5 million, worth BD655,000. Ithmaar Bank rose by 6.5%, Bahrain National Bank 1.3% and Saudi Bahraini Bank 1.3%, while GFH fell by 0.33%.

Muscat falls below 9,000 points

The Muscat market fell below 9,000 points, even with Omani trade minister meeting with pension funds and urging them to buy shares to support the market, after most selling operations concentrated on leading shares like Omantel and Muscat Bank.

Omantel fell by 1.5% despite trading OR1m out of total trading of OR4.7m.

Muscat Bank too fell by 1.7%, taking along with it other shares like Sohar bank 0.43%, Arab National Bank 3.5% and Ahli Bank 0.78%.