Qatar stock market ends 1.7% lower

12/03/2014 07:29 AST

Egyptian shares rose on Tuesday, while Qatar took a hit as heavyweight Industries Qatar traded ex-dividend.

Cairo's benchmark index rose 1.7 percent to 8,109 points, just shy of a 66-month peak touched earlier in March.

In Doha, the benchmark index retreated 1.7 percent, ending a three-session gaining streak. Large-caps lost ground with Industries Qatar the main drag; it tumbled 7.1 percent after passing the date on which shareholders qualified for a 2013 cash dividend of 11 riyals.

Profit-taking picked up pace in the United Arab Emirates. Dubai's measure lost 1.4 percent, trimming its 2014 gains to 21.4 percent and slumping to its lowest closing level in four weeks. Dubai Islamic Insurance & Reinsurance (Aman) dropped 1.7 percent after credit rating agency Standard & Poor's lowered its rating of the company to “BB+” from “BBB-“ with a negative outlook. It said a loss posted by Aman at the end of last year had impaired its capital adequacy.

In Kuwait, blue chips helped lift the main index, which gained 0.4 percent as local funds accumulated what they saw as undervalued stocks.

Telecommunications operator Zain rose 4.8 percent, recovering from a five-year low.

The stock was hammered in recent weeks after its fourth-quarter earnings missed estimates because of foreign exchange losses, but it said its customer base increased 8 percent. Last week, the firm finalized an $800 million, five-year loan facility from 11 banks.

"Local funds are building inventory in Zain, which has an improving client base, scheduled loans and pays among the highest dividends in Kuwait," said Fouad Darwish, head of brokerage services at Global Investment House.

"The market has not been portraying the fundamental improvement of companies, and prices for stocks like Zain and NBK can be viewed as a bargain."

Shares in heavyweight National Bank of Kuwait gained 1.1 percent.

Kuwait's weighting is set to increase on MSCI's frontier market index at the end of May as the United Arab Emirates and Qatar move up from it to the emerging market index. Darwish said some investors were betting on Kuwaiti blue chips ahead of that increase, which could bring in more foreign funds.

Arab News