Egypt's stock market rose sharply for a fourth straight day on Thursday as investors welcomed this week's currency devaluation, while higher oil prices boosted Gulf markets. The Cairo index jumped 3.6 percent to 7,486 points in the second heaviest trading volume for the past seven years; the heaviest day of trade was on Monday, when the devaluation raised hopes that Egypt could attract more funds from abroad and begin resolving its endemic foreign exchange shortage.
The index soared 14 percent this week, rising above its 200-day average for the first time since March 2015 - a technical indicator which suggests the market could be entering a long-term uptrend.
EFG Hermes rocketed 10.0 percent after saying its board had approved the sale of 40 percent of Credit Libanais for $33 per share, along with plans to sell its remaining shares by May next year.
Another financial firm, Pioneers, added 8.7 percent after saying its 2015 net profit ballooned to 802.4 million Egyptian pounds ($89.7 million) from 463.5 million pounds in 2014.
Real estate shares, seen as a hedge against the higher inflation which the devaluation could bring, also led the market up; Palm Hills Development jumped 7.5 percent.
Edita Food, an exporter which could benefit from a weaker currency, climbed 3.9 percent to 34.81 Egyptian pounds, although investment bank HC started coverage of the stock with an "underweight" rating and a target price of 23.40 pounds.
Late on Wednesday, the central bank sold dollars to banks at 8.78 Egyptian pounds per dollar, a slightly stronger rate than the one hit in the devaluation. This eased concern, for now at least, that the week's devaluation could be followed by further currency depreciation.
Saudi Arabia's index rose 1.4 percent in active trade after oil prices jumped above $40 a barrel on Wednesday on news that oil producers would meet in Doha on April 17 to discuss a proposal to prop up prices by freezing output.
The oil-sensitive petrochemical sector added 2.0 percent. Telecommunications firm Zain Saudi jumped 8.9 percent after sources told Reuters on Wednesday that its Kuwaiti parent Zain was narrowing the field of potential bidders for 7,000 towers owned by the Saudi firm.
The Dubai index surged 2.6 percent as real estate blue chip Emaar Properties added 5.4 percent. But Dubai Financial Market fell 1.4 percent as it went ex-dividend.
On the neighbouring NASDAQ Dubai exchange, port operator DP World gained 8.9 percent to $19.05 after posting a 30.7 percent rise in annual profit and setting its 2015 ordinary dividend at $0.30 per share, against $0.235 paid for 2014.
The stock broke chart resistance on the late January and February peaks of $18.35, triggering a reverse head and shoulders pattern formed by the highs and lows since mid-January and pointing up to around $20.
Abu Dhabi's index climbed 3.0 percent as Aldar Properties rose 3.8 percent. The company said it would introduce a new formula to calculate its dividends from 2016 onwards, which could lead to higher payouts for shareholders.
Telecommunications giant Etisalat fell 4.0 percent in its heaviest trade since November. International index compiler FTSE Russell will add Etisalat to its All-World and other indexes after the close of business this week; the bulk of passive inflows related to such index changes usually occurs on the final day before the change takes effect. Qatar's index climbed 1.3 percent as drilling rig provider Gulf International Services jumped 4.1 percent.
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