• Etisalat reports higher quarterly profit

DUBAI: Dubai's stock market ended higher on Thursday, driven by a rebound in its top lender Emirates NBD, while Egyptian stocks fell sharply due to a broad selloff in blue-chip shares. Dubai's main share index rose 0.7%, led by a rebound in its largest lender Emirates NBD, following two sessions of losses.

On Tuesday, the lender reported a sharp decline in quarterly profit, hit by a rise in bad debt charges resulting from the Covid-19 crisis. Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index retreated 1%, extending losses for a sixth straight session, as most of the stocks on the index were in negative territory including El Sewedy Electric, which was down 3.6%.

The most populous Arab state's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Wednesday that his government is concerned about the rising numbers of new coronavirus cases in neighbouring countries. Saudi Arabia's benchmark index edged up 0.1%, with Saudi Telecom Company advancing 2.7% after it reported an increase in quarterly profit.

Elsewhere, BinDawood Holding's shares jumped 9.9% on the second day of trading since its listing. The supermarket retailer offered 22.86 million shares or 20% of its share capital at an offer price of 96 riyals ($25.60) per share.

The Abu Dhabi index added 0.3%, helped by a 0.6% increase in Emirates Telecommunications (Etisalat) following a higher third-quarter profit. The telecoms firm reported a net profit of 2.41 billion dirhams ($656.18 million) for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up from 2.29 billion dirhams a year earlier.