Major Gulf bourses up on strong oil prices; Egypt extends slide

Major stock markets in the Gulf rose on Monday led by the Abu Dhabi benchmark on higher oil prices, while shares in Egypt continued to ease for a second straight session.

Oil prices - a catalyst for the Gulf’s financial markets - gained, as attacks on Russian energy facilities intensified with Brent rising 0.8% to $86.02 a barrel by 1330 GMT.

In Abu Dhabi, the benchmark index rose 0.7%, ending its previous session of losses.

The index encountered a technical glitch earlier in the day displaying inflated gains, before the issue got fixed towards the end of the trading session.

First Abu Dhabi Bank, UAE’s largest lender, gained 1.1% while Abu Dhabi National Oil’s (ADNOC) units ADNOC Drilling and ADNOC Logistics climbed 1.8% and 1.3%, respectively.

The state-owned energy major ADNOC signed a 15-year deal to supply 1 MMT a year of LNG to a unit of Germany’s state-owned Securing Energy for Europe.

Dubai’s benchmark index advanced 0.3%, with blue-chip developer Emaar Properties rising 2.2% and Dubai Electricity adding 1.2%.

Gulf markets cautious ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve meeting

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index edged up 0.1%, extending its rally to a fifth straight session with Saudi National Bank, the kingdom’s largest lender, advancing 1.9% and Saudi Awwal Bank gaining 2.5%.

The Qatari benchmark index was up marginally, helped by a 2.9% gain in Qatar Gas Transport and 1.3% rise in Industries Qatar, while Doha Bank and Masraf Al Rayan slipped 4.7% and 1.9%, respectively.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index extended its losses to a second consecutive session and ended 6.3% lower, the steepest fall since Jan.31 with almost all stocks in the red.

E-Finance declined 14.3% and El Sewedy Electric dropped 13.6%.

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 SAUDI ARABIA      rose 0.1% to 12,772
 KUWAIT            fell 0.4% to 8,118
 QATAR             ended flat at 10,260
 EGYPT             dropped 6.3% to 29,091
 BAHRAIN           gained 0.2% to 2,035
 OMAN              lost 0.1% to 4,770
 ABU DHABI         up 0.7% to 9,289
 DUBAI             rose 0.3% to 4,275
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