The Dubai stock market extended gains as it rose for a fifth session on Tuesday, mainly driven by property stocks after strong fourth-quarter earnings. Saudi Arabia's market fell as investors booked profit after the market gained significantly this year. Banks had led the rally, then were hit hard, with nine of 11 banks falling. In Dubai, the benchmark index rose 0.6 percent with the most heavily traded stock, Emaar Properties, gaining 3.1 percent and its unit Emaar Malls rising 1.9 percent. The stocks have gained in recent sessions after posting robust fourth-quarter earnings, boosting the index.
Property firms, which were partly behind the index's poor performance last year, showed signs of recovery reflected in the fourth-quarter results and increased construction contracts, though remained vulnerable to further falls in property prices.
Rating agency Standard & Poor's said on Tuesday it expects Dubai residential property prices to fall further in 2019 because of a gap between supply and demand, then stabilise in 2020.
Saudi Arabia's index fell 0.6 percent with bank Samba Financial Group dropping 2.2 percent and Riyad Bank shedding 2.1 percent.
The index is still up nearly nine percent this year, outperforming other major Gulf markets, with foreign investors leading the rally. Saudi exchange weekly data showed foreigners were net buyers every week this year.
Telecommunications firm Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) rose 2.5 percent after it posted a fourth-quarter profit which, it said, was its first profit since the second quarter of 2016.
Qatar's index was down 0.5 percent. The Middle East's top lender, Qatar National Bank, fell 1.2 percent and another bank, Masraf Al Rayan, dropped 1 percent.
Qatar, which jumped 21 percent in 2018, was one of the world's best-performing markets for the year, after limits on foreign ownership of shares were lifted.
The index carried last year's performance into January, then began a downward trend in February, as the impact from higher ownership limits faded. The index has already lost 6.8 percent so far this month.
The Abu Dhabi index edged down 0.1 percent with heavyweight First Abu Dhabi Bank slipping 0.3 percent.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index 0.5 percent, snapping a seven-day winning streak with 18 of its 29 stocks declining. The index had gained 16.3 percent this year as the Egyptian economy strengthened.
El Sewedy Electric shed 1.4 percent and the country's largest lender, Commercial International Bank, which surged more than 25 percent this year, lost 0.8 percent.
Telecom Egypt jumped 3.5 percent, however, after it agreed to provide Vodafone Egypt with transmission and infrastructure services for 10 years, in a deal valued at 10.85 billion Egyptian pounds ($618.15 million).
Vodafone Egypt also proposed a dividend payout of 5.5 billion pounds to Telecom Egypt.
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