Gulf shares rise after oil prices climb, Egypt eases off 13-month high

A bounce in oil prices at the end of last week helped lift stock markets in the Gulf on Sunday, while Egypt's main index eased off a 13-month closing high as investors were cautious about a preliminary agreement with the IMF on a loan programme.
Dubai's index rebounded 1.2 percent to 3,567 points, its highest close in 16 weeks. Emaar Properties surged 3.5 percent and Dubai Islamic Bank added 1.7 percent.
But DAMAC Properties fell 0.4 percent after the developer reported a 37.4 percent fall in second-quarter net profit to 886.8 million dirhams ($241 million).
Arabtec dropped 1.3 percent after it reported a second quarter loss of 186.4 million dirhams, an improvement from a year earlier but short of EFG Hermes' forecast of a loss of 83.2 million.
Shuaa Capital fell as much as 1.8 percent but closed flat after the investment bank said it made a second quarter net loss of 50.8 million dirhams, compared to a profit of 1.7 million dirhams a year earlier. The loss was mainly due to provisions set aside by Shuaa's business of lending to smaller firms.
Large cap banking shares helped push Qatar's index up 0.9 percent to 11,054 points, a fresh nine-month closing high. Commercial Bank gained 2.6 percent and Qatar National Bank rose 1 percent.
In Saudi Arabia, the index gained 0.8 percent as most petrochemical shares advanced after Brent crude futures
settled 2 percent higher at $46.97 per barrel on Friday. Bellwether Saudi Basic Industries gained 0.9 percent.
The positive mood spilled into other sectors, with the banking sub-index climbing 0.7 percent. Its top performer was Banque Saudi Fransi, which jumped 3.4 percent.
Cairo's main index retreated 0.3 percent to 8,351 points but closed 66 points above its session low. Global Telecom Holding fell 0.5 percent.
On Thursday, the index gained 1 percent as investors cheered a preliminary three-year, $12 billion funding deal with the International Monetary Fund. But while most analysts believe the agreement will be highly positive for Egypt, they are concerned by the impact of austerity policies that are expected to accompany it, such as subsidy cuts and the introduction of a value-added tax.
"While we expect positive reaction from the markets and the investor community as a whole, indirect social repercussions resulting from the programme's implementation, led by rising inflation, need to be factored in as well," brokerage Naeem said in a note.
Analysts at Sigmal Capital expect the central bank will raise interest rates at its meeting in September to combat a likely rise in inflation.