UAE stock markets end in green

11/10/2016 05:49 AST

Dubai’s index rose 0.3 per cent as Drake & Scull, the most heavily traded stock, surged 7.0 per cent after saying it had appointed chief operating officer Wael Allan as its new chief executive.

Saudi Arabia’s stock market rebounded on the back of banking shares on Monday while other major Gulf bourses were firm, with builder Drake & Scull leaping in Dubai after it replaced its chief executive.

The Saudi stock index, which had tumbled 2.2 per cent on Sunday as banks dropped because of concern about the impact of government austerity policies on their balance sheets, closed Monday 1.2 per cent higher in moderate trading volume.

The banking index, which had plunged 4.5 per cent on the previous day, bounced back 1.9 per cent.

Qassim Cement dropped 1.5 per cent after reporting a 29 per cent year-on-year drop in third-quarter net profit, citing lower demand for cement as well as cost increases due to cuts in state subsidies for electricity and fuel.

But Saudi Arabia Fertilizers Co rose 1.2 per cent after it and Saudi Basic Industries said they had hired investment banks to advise on the potential sale of a stake in the Ibn Al-Baytar fertiliser company, a 50-50 joint venture between them.

Abu Dhabi’s index gained 0.6 per cent as First Gulf Bank rose 2.2 per cent, while strength in Industries Qatar and telecommunications firm Ooredoo helped Qatar’s index climb 0.5 per cent.

Egypt, which had risen strongly for four straight days on signs the country is nearing the completion of its $12 billion loan deal with the International Monetary Fund, fell back 0.9 per cent.

In a sign that Saudi Arabia may be becoming less willing to support Egypt financially as its own finances are weakened by low oil prices, an Egyptian official told Reuters that the Saudis had informed the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, Egypt’s state oil company, in early October that it would halt the supply of refined oil products to Egypt.

The Gulf Today