Gulf bourses ended mixed in a muted session yesterday that saw investors little moved by index compiler MSCI’s decision to keep frontier market status for the UAE and Qatar, while Egypt’s bourse resumed its decline on political woes. This was the fourth time Qatar and UAE failed to obtain emerging market status, an upgrade which could attract renewed interest from long-term investors and global fund managers.
Dubai’s index slipped 0.4%, trading within its tight range of 85 points over the past six weeks.
There was little hope of an upgrade to emerging market status and few bets placed ahead of the announcement. Bellwether Emaar Properties dropped 1.4% and Dubai Financial Market.
Abu Dhabi’s benchmark climbed 0.8%, with telecom operator Etisalat the main support. Shares in the firm, available for trading only to UAE nationals, gained 2.4%.
Elsewhere, Egypt’s benchmark index resumed its decline after a one-day pause, dropping 1.9% on political anxieties after the result announcement of Egypt’s presidential election was postponed over allegations of fraud.
In Kuwait, the benchmark ended 0.3% lower, falling for the last seven sessions in eight as the country suffers from political crisis.
Elsewhere in the Gulf, Oman’s index slipped 0.4% to 5,666 points, while Bahrain’s measure eased 0.09% to 1,128 points.
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