Major Middle East stock markets ended mixed on Thursday after a volatile quarter in which Gulf bourses plunged to multi-year lows before recovering along with oil prices, while Egypt swung in response to currency policy. Saudi Arabia's index closed the day 0.1 percent higher at 6,223 points. It lost as much as 23 percent during the first quarter but ultimately finished only 10 percent lower after oil prices bounced from below $30 a barrel to around $40.
Petrochemical shares were weaker, with the sector's index falling 0.5 percent. Hospital operator Middle East Healthcare fell back 6.5 percent after jumping its 10 percent daily limit for two straight days following its listing on Tuesday. But Arabian Pipes climbed 3.1 percent after saying it had won a 73 million riyal ($19.5 million) contract to supply pipes to national oil giant Saudi Aramco.
Dubai's index rose 0.9 percent to 3,356 points, bouncing further from technical support on its mid-March low of 3,253 points. It fell as much as 18 percent during the first quarter before finishing up 7 percent. There was active trade in several stocks that hit record lows earlier this year and have been rebounding in recent weeks on the grounds that they were oversold. Builder Drake & Scull added 4.3 percent and Shuaa Capital rose 0.4 percent.
Abu Dhabi's index edged down 0.1 percent as Waha Capital plunged 10 percent as it went ex-dividend. But Abu Dhabi National Energy Co (TAQA) jumped 6.5 percent after reporting a narrower fourth-quarter loss of 1.22 billion dirhams ($332.2 million) versus a net loss of 3.63 billion dirhams in the same period of 2014. It declined to pay an annual dividend for the third year in a row. The stock had jumped 12.2 percent on Wednesday ahead of the earnings news.
Qatar rose 0.6 percent as Qatar Gas Transport, the most heavily traded stock, added 1.7 percent. But Gulf Warehousing fell 1.5 percent. It soared last week when the Qatar Central Securities Depository raised the maximum foreign ownership percentage for its shares to 49 percent of capital, but pulled back this week as no rapid, major increase in actual foreign ownership, now at 25.6 percent, materialised.
While the panic in Gulf bourses has faded since oil prices came off their lows, many fund managers think stocks may not resume rising on a sustained basis for some time, given the outlook for further government austerity measures and an economic slowdown in the region this year.
A monthly Reuters survey of 14 leading Middle East fund managers, published on Thursday, showed only 7 percent anticipate raising their equity allocations to the region in the next three months and 14 percent reducing them. In last month's survey, 36 percent of managers expected to increase exposure to Middle East equities while 7 percent foresaw cutting it.
Egypt's index gained 0.5 percent on Thursday. It plunged as much as 21 percent during the quarter but ended 7 percent higher after the central bank devalued the currency, raising hopes that the country might solve its longstanding foreign exchange shortage - although black market prices suggest more depreciation is in store. Investment firm Qalaa Holdings jumped 8.5 percent in record trading volume for the stock. But Ezz Steel fell 1.8 percent after posting a net loss of 418 million Egyptian pounds ($47 million) for 2015 versus a 697 million pound loss in the previous year. Sales fell to 17 billion pounds from 19 billion pounds.
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