An investor walks through the Dubai financial market after Joe Biden won the U.S. presidency on November 8, 2020 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. REUTERS/Christopher Pike/File Photo acquire license rights
Nov 7 (Reuters) – Gulf stock markets ended mixed on Tuesday as investor enthusiasm over a peak in global interest rates faded and the Qatari index rose for seven sessions.
The Qatari benchmark (.QSI) fell 0.3%, ending its winning streak, with petrochemical maker Industries Qatar (IQCD.QA) losing 1.7% and telecoms firm Ooredoo (ORDS.QA) falling 2.3%.
Dubai’s main stock index (.DFMGI) rose 0.8%, with top lender Emirates NBD (ENBD.DU) gaining 1.1% and Mashreq Bank (MASB.DU) closing up 5.2%.
Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum approved a budget of 246.6 billion dirhams ($67.14 billion) for the emirate’s government in 2024-2026, Dubai’s media office said on Monday.
The Dubai stock market continued to recover from its losses in October. “The market continues to find support in strong local economic fundamentals as sentiment improves,” said Daniel Takieddine, CEO MENA at BDSwiss.
“Performance could remain positive if traders continue to focus on expectations of weaker monetary policy,” Takieddine said.
In Abu Dhabi, the index (.FTFADGI) ended flat.
Oil prices – a key catalyst for Gulf financial markets – hit fresh 2-1/2-month lows as mixed economic data from China offset the impact of expanding production cuts by Saudi Arabia and Russia.
Saudi Arabia’s leading index (.TASI) closed unchanged with a negligible loss.
Oil giant Saudi Aramco (2222.SE) rose 0.5% after reporting a 23% drop in third-quarter net profit that easily beat analysts’ estimates.
Car rental company Lumi (4262.SE), meanwhile, slipped 0.6% after posting a quarterly net profit of 35 million riyals ($9.33 million), up from 30.5 million riyals last year, but a decline of 30% in the previous quarter.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index (.EGX30) rose 1.5%, led by a 3.5% rise in Commercial International Bank (COMI.CA).
Egypt is offering incentives to boost its tourism industry in the Red Sea’s southern Sinai as the impact of the Gaza conflict has so far been limited to less than 10% of bookings in the country, Egypt’s tourism minister said on Monday.
($1 = 3.6728 UAE dirham)
($1 = 3.7513 riyals)
Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru; Editing by Alison Williams
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