Gulf shares mixed on oil price fluctuation

11/01/2017 08:22 AST

Shares in Dubai and Abu Dhabi posted small gains on Tuesday, as oil prices recovered partially.

Saudi equities finished lower for a third straight day.

Brent crude futures, which fell nearly 4 per cent on Monday on higher US rig counts, stabilised early on Tuesday, trading at around US$55.17 per barrel during the late afternoon.

"Clearly there are growing doubts that Opec will succeed in implementing most of the promised production cuts," said analysts at Commerzbank in a research note.

Such concerns acted as a partial break on UAE equities following several days of strong gains. The Dubai Financial Market General Index fell in early trading before recovering at the close to end up 0.1 per cent at 3,725.06.

Emaar Properties and Emirates NBD led big-name gainers, closing up 0.8 per cent and 2.4 per cent, respectively, offsetting falls by Dubai Investments and DXB Entertainment.

Retail investors booked gains in Ajman Bank, which had registered gains of 24 per cent over the previous two days. The bank’s shares fell 6.6 per cent to Dh1.55 on Tuesday.

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index ended a quiet day up 0.1 per cent at 4,668.31, with minor gains by FGB and Etisalat cancelling out declines by NBAD and ADCB.

Shares in Saudi Arabia were dragged lower by STC and Alinma Bank. The Tadawul finished the day 1 per cent lower at 7,008.03.

In Doha, the Qatar Exchange ended 0.01 per cent lower, with gains by Rayan and Vodafone Qatar offset by falls by QNB and Industries Qatar.

The National