Most regional markets rebound as global bourses rally
Egypt gives up early-session gains, continues to slide
DUBAI, Oct 19, (RTRS): Most exchanges in the Middle East rebounded on Sunday after global stock markets recovered on Friday from a big sell-off triggered by worries about the impact of weak earnings reports on growth and businesses.
Those worries had sent Middle East bourses tumbling, with Dubai’s index down 13.6 percent last week. Saudi Arabia lost 12.0 percent and Egypt dropped 10.0 percent over the same period.
But on Friday, when markets in the Middle East were closed, European stocks surged by the most in more than two years as investors bought back into beaten-down markets after further, soldid, US corporate earnings and rising consumer sentiment.
Wall Street followed Europe’s lead, with all major stock indexes climbing more than 1 percent after earnings reports eased concerns about the impact of weak global demand on US growth and businesses.
Dubai’s bourse jumped 3.5 percent after tumbling 5.0 percent in the previous session. Most stocks posted gains and builder Arabtec Holding was one of the top performers, surging 8.1 percent.
Arabtec said on Sunday it expected soon to conclude a final agreement with Egyptian authorities to begin work on a $40 billion project to build one million homes.
Abu Dhabi’s index added 0.5 percent as Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank rose 1.9 percent and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank surged 5.7 percent. Qatar’s benchmark rose 1.6 percent, also in a broad rally.
Saudi Arabia’s main index rose 2.4 percent as most stocks gained. Alinma Bank was the main support, surging 9.5 percent. The lender has yet to publish its third-quarter earnings and other local banks have so far posted mixed results.
Al Rajhi Bank, Saudi Arabia’s largest listed lender, missed analyst forecasts with a profit drop, while Riyad Bank, Saudi Hollandi and Saudi British Bank matched expectations and Banque Saudi Fransi posted betterthan-expected results.
Shares in retailer Jarir Marketing jumped 5.0 percent after its chairman told Reuters in an interview that the firm planned to invest 1.1 billion riyals ($293 million) over the next five years to roughly double the number of its stores in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf.
Egypt’s index also edged up early in the session but then changed direction and closed 0.8 percent down as most shares declined.
“Basically, it’s just consolidation,” said Allen Sandeep, director of research at Naeem Brokerage in Cairo.
Egypt’s central bank kept its main interest rates unchanged at a policy meeting last Thursday but said it was keeping an eye on the risks to recovery posed by mounting concerns about the global economy and fears of a resurgence in European debt problems.
Dubai
The index jumped 3.5 percent to 4,419 points.
Abu Dhabi
The index rose 0.5 percent to 4,794 points.
Saudi Arabia
The index gained 2.4 percent to 9,775 points.
Qatar
The index climbed 1.6 percent to 13,148 points.
Egypt
The index fell 0.8 percent to 8,524 points.
Kuwait
The index slipped 0.3 percent to 7,388 points.
Oman
The index added 1.1 percent to 6,947 points.
Bahrain
The index was flat at 1,447 points.