Gulf markets consolidate; Qatar index drops 0.4pc

18/02/2015 05:07 AST

Gulf stock markets consolidated yesterday after seesawing in line with oil prices over the last few days, while Egypt pulled back further, having previously outperformed most markets in the Middle East.

Brent crude traded near $62 per barrel yesterday as the International Energy Agency warned of supply risks in the Middle East, although some analysts said that prices had risen too far from six-year lows hit in January.

Qatar’s index edged down 0.4 percent when it closed at 12,553.69 points from Monday’s position of 12,605.46 points. The traded value today however increased to QR628.083m with a volume of 14,506,977 shares from 6,268 transactions compared with QR 437.33m with a volume of 9,695,624 shares from 4,988 transactions on Monday.

The main Saudi stock index was nearly flat as some stocks fell on profit-taking or negative news. Petrochemicals giant Saudi Basic Industries fell 1.0 percent, cutting year-to-date gains to 14.3 percent.

Eastern Province Cement dropped 3.4 percent. The stock had tumbled 8.0 percent on Monday after the company proposed a 2.50 riyal cash dividend for 2014, down from 3.50 riyals a year earlier.

Meanwhile, two companies focused on real estate development in the Muslim holy city of Makkah, Jabal Omar and Makkah Construction and Development, rose 3.8 and 1.7 percent respectively.

Saudi Arabian newspapers Arab News and Saudi Gazette reported on Monday that senior officials were seeking to speed up the city’s development and would hold an international conference on development of its low-income areas.

Dubai’s stock index rose 0.9 percent as major developer Emaar Properties, which tumbled 3.6 percent on Monday, climbed 0.8 percent.

Emaar reported a 14 percent rise in fourth-quarter net profit before Monday’s session, which was slightly ahead of analysts’ estimates but triggered a bout of profit-taking.

Agencies