Kuwait Finance House hit a two-month high on Thursday after reporting above-forecast earnings, helping the country's index rise for a third day in four. Middle East markets remained in a sideways trend, with little to draw in buyers amid uncertainty over the world economy and largely uninspiring results from regional corporates. KFH climbed 2 percent. The Islamic lender reported a 22 percent rise in second-quarter profit, beating a forecast from EFG-Hermes by 25 percent.
"People liked KFH results and other banks also reported good earnings, so there's positive sentiment for this sector," said a Kuwait trader who asked not to be named. "We also expect telecoms to post good results, but there's oversupply in real estate and negative sentiment around investment companies." Global Investment House climbed 6.6 percent, taking its gains to 27 percent since it won a multi-million dollar court case this week against Abu Dhabi-listed National Bank of Umm Al Qaiwain, although the lender said it would appeal.
Kuwait's index climbed 0.2 percent as trading topped 300 million shares for a third day. Last week, a Kuwaiti minister was quoted in a local newspaper as saying the government was ready to inject liquidity into the country's bourse. Emaar Properties ended flat as Dubai's index eased from Wednesday's three-week high. After market hours, Emaar reported a second-quarter net profit of 802 million dirhams, 17 percent below consensus. Dubai's index fell 0.2 percent to 1,529 points.
Indebted Dubai World met bank creditors on Thursday as the government-owned conglomerate tries to secure a $14.4 billion restructuring deal. The conglomerate says no resolution was sought in the meeting. In Oman, Raysut Cement fell 3.6 percent to a fresh 13-month low after saying it had cut its cement selling prices.