Renaissance nears 3-wk high, Gulf markets up

Oman's Renaissance Services hit a near three week high on Monday as investors picked up the battered stock while other regional bourses edged higher in thin trade ahead of a long religious holiday, taking support from hopes there may be further measures in the United States to help the economy. The oil services firm jumped 6.1 percent, up for a fifth consecutive session. The stock had plummeted to a 2009-low after it discovered financial fraud at unit Topaz and reported a 77-percent drop in first-ha lf net profit. Investors believe the sell-off was overdone. "Interest in Renaissance Services picked up with the accumulation strategy of medium-to-long term investors," said Kanaga Sundar, Gulf Baader Capital Markets head of research.

Banks also helped the index , which ended 1.1 percent higher at a four-week high. Analysts say local pension funds and foreign funds have come back strong in Oman and the bourse is expected to continue its uptrend. Bank Muscat gained 1.3 percent and Bank Sohar climbed 2.7 percent. "We do remain positive on Omani banks with valuations remaining attractive," Sundar added.

Most Gulf bourses have recovered losses spurred by a US credit rating downgrade on Aug. 5 by Standard & Poor's, and are now back to levels prior to the ratings cut. Elsewhere, Dubai's index gained 1.2 percent, its highest close since Aug 4, but volumes remained low. Retail-driven stocks were among the most active, with Emaar Properties rising 1.8 percent, Drake & Scull advancing 1.3 percent and low-cost carrier Air Arabia adding 1.3 percent. Meanwhile Abu Dhabi's benchmark ended on a near four-week high, c losing 0.5 percent up. Dana Gas and Aldar Properties accounted for half of the total shares traded on the index, gaining 1.8 and 2.5 percent respectively.

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