Ups and downs
In Egypt, the blue-chip index rose 2 per cent yesterday to close at 13,537 points, bucking the trend in the Arabian Gulf.
Shares of Egyptian property developer Medinet Nasr rallied 10 per cent after property firm Sodic said it intended to make a tender offer to acquire the company through a share swap.
Stock markets in the Gulf mostly closed lower yesterday, with the Dubai index slipping 1.5 per cent. Aan Digital Services and Almadina were among fallers, shedding 2.4 per cent and 4.4 per cent, respectively. Gainers included Ekttitab, which closed up 5.1 per cent and Dar Al Takaful, which put on 3.1 per cent.
In Abu Dhabi, the index dropped 0.7 per cent to 4,931 points. Gainers were led by Abu Dhabi Shipping, which soared 8.8 per cent, and Agthia Group, which put on 3.3 per cent. FAB was among the fallers, shedding 0.9 per cent, while IHC dropped 1.7 per cent.
However, in Oman, the market rose 0.2 per cent to 4,497 points, lifted by HSBC Oman which reported a nine-month profit of 25 million Omani rials, compared with 13.7m rials the same period a year earlier. Shares of HSBC Oman rose 3.4 per cent. In Bahrain the index was largely unchanged.
Kuwait’s market declined 1.9 per cent to 5,159 points, weighed by banks and Zain Group after regional investment bank EFG Hermes cut its target price for the company by 2 per cent.
Metal market watchers will be hoping for a rebound in gold today after prices eased on Friday, the session after their biggest daily gain in more than two years, coming under pressure as the US dollar climbed and global stocks rebounded from a six-day rout.
Spot gold was down 0.5 per cent at $1,217.81 an ounce by 17.55 GMT. On Thursday, bullion jumped about 2.5 per cent on safe-haven buying during an equities sell-off.
Thursday’s peak of $1,226.27 was the highest since July 31. George Gero, managing director at RBC Wealth Management said a rebound in equities last week was one of the main factors weighing on gold. Gold remains down about more than 10 per cent from its April peak, pressured by a strong dollar as the US-China trade war unfolds while the Federal Reserve has raised US interest rates.