Property shares boost Egypt

DUBAI, Oct 16, (RTRS): A rebound in real estate shares lifted Egypt’s blue-chip stock index on Wednesday, while most major Gulf markets rose marginally.

Egypt’s blue-chip index gained 1.1%, with 24 out of30 stocks advancing.

The country’s largest lender, Commercial International Bank, added 0.6%, while developer Madinet Nasr jumped 9.9% to become the top gainer on the index. Middle Eastern funds plan to increase their investments in Egypt, despite recent political protests, while keeping their exposure to the rest of the region at current levels, according to a Reuters poll.

Most of the fund managers polled said they were keeping their allocations in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia,Qatar, and Kuwait in equal proportions.

In Saudi Arabia, the benchmark index rose 0.5%,snapping a sevenday losing streak. Al Rajhi Bank gained 1.2% and Yamamah Cement increased 1.5%.

The cement producer posted third-quarter profit of 54.7million riyals ($14.58 million), compared with a loss of 46.4million riyals year ago. Al Kathiri Holding surged 19.8% after it submitted a request to move to the main market. Currently the stock is listed on parallel market index.

However, Saudi stocks have been on the back foot in recent weeks. Escalating trade tensions between the United States and China, growing geopolitical risks in the region and volatile oil prices kept active emerging market funds from investing in the kingdom.

Dubai’s main share index edged up 0.1% after previous session fall, with Dubai Islamic Bank gaining 0.4%. On Tuesday, the sharia-compliant lender reported a rise in thirdquarter profit to 1.25 billion Dirhams ($340.33 million).

Air Arabia advanced 1.5%. The airline and Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways said after the market closed that they had agreed to jointly set up a low-cost airline based in the United Arab Emirates’ capital.

In Abu Dhabi, the index also closed 0.1% up, led by a 1.6% increase in Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and a 0.1%rise in First Abu Dhabi Bank.

In Qatar, the index traded flat with Gulf’s biggest lender Qatar National Bank increasing 0.5%, while Mesaieed Petrochemical was down 1.8%.