Qatar leads Gulf markets higher, Abu Dhabi shares fall

Qatar’s stock market on Wednesday extended its winning streak to a fifth straight session to outperform the Gulf region on strong earnings, while Abu Dhabi stocks ended lower.

Qatari index rose 0.5% as financial and materials sectors gained.

Qatar’s Commercial Bank surged 10% on upbeat fiscal year earnings and higher dividend.

The bank reported a more than 22% rise in annual net profit to 2.81 bln-riyal ($771.98 million), beating analyst expectations of a profit of 2.34 bln riyal. It also raised annual cash dividend by 56% to 0.25 riyal per share compared with 2021.

The benchmark index in Saudi Arabia added 0.1%, helped by gains in healthcare, financial and materials stocks with Dr Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical Services surging 3% and Dallah Health rising 5.3%.

The oil giant Saudi Aramco ended its six-session rally, falling 0.3%, while the world’s largest Islamic bank by market capitalization Al Rajhi Bank rose 0.4%.

Crude prices, a key catalyst for Gulf financial markets, steadied on Wednesday after a decline in the previous session, with Brent crude up 7 cents, or 0.1%, at $86.06 a barrel by 1227 GMT after declining 2.3% in the previous session.

Abu Dhabi stocks fell 0.4%, with the country’s biggest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank dropping 1.8% and International Holding sliding 0.2%.

Dubai hopes to seize private sector listings, boost access to stock exchange

UAE conglomerate IHC is considering bidding for Indian billionaire Gautam Adani-led Adani Enterprises’ 200 billion rupee ($2.45 billion) follow-on sale of shares that began on Wednesday, the company’s spokesperson said.

Dubai’s benchmark index lost 0.4%, dragged down by fall in utilities, financial and real estate sectors with Dubai Electric falling 0.8%, and Emirates Central Cooling Systems dropping 1.3% while real estate heavyweight Emaar properties lost 0.2%.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index climbed 2.1%, continuing its rally since last Wednesday.

“The Egyptian stock market continued to surge while international investors maintained their buying trend. The market could continue to see benefits from the improving sentiment,” said Fadi Reyad, chief market analyst at CAPEX.com MENA.

Egypt’s economy will grow 4.8% in the current fiscal year, faster than predicted by the government but will not meet its targets over the medium term, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday.

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 SAUDI ARABIA    rose 0.1% to 10,809
 QATAR           rose 0.5% to 11,162
 EGYPT           rose 2.1% to 16,791
 BAHRAIN         fell 0.1% at 1,927
 OMAN            lost 0.8% to 4,746
 KUWAIT          fell 0.5% to 8,152
 ABU DHABI       lost 0.4% to 10,177
 DUBAI           fell 0.2% to 3,357
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