February 15 (Reuters) – Most stock markets in the Middle East closed higher on Wednesday, with the Egyptian index extending gains and the Abu Dhabi bourse falling after a drop in oil prices.
The benchmark index of Saudi Arabia (.TASI) rose 0.7%, with Dr. Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical Services (4013.SE) was up 5.2% and Riyad Bank (1010.SE) was up 2.7%.
Dubai’s main stock index (.TASI) rose 0.1%, helped by a 3.9% gain in Emaar Development (EMAARDEV.DU) a day after it reported a rise in full-year net profit.
Emaar Development, the real estate arm of blue-chip developer Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU), reported net income of 3.81 billion dirhams ($1.04 billion), up from 3.24 billion dirhams a year earlier.
Egypt’s blue chip index (.EGX30) gained 0.5%, trading near a 5-year high.
Egyptians and Arabs were net buyers of the shares during the session, and non-Arab foreigners were the net sellers, according to data on the exchange’s website.
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Last week, Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly confirmed that Egypt plans to sell government stakes in 32 companies from the first quarter of this year until the end of the first quarter of 2024.
In Abu Dhabi, the index (.FTFADGI) was down 0.3% on the back of a 0.3% decline in conglomerate International Holding (IHC.AD).
The Abu Dhabi stock market remained volatile as uncertainty mounted over developments in oil markets, said Ahmed Negm, head of MENA market research at XS.com.
Oil — a key catalyst for Gulf financial markets — fell for a second day as an industry report pointed to ample supplies in the United States and expectations of further rate hikes sparked concerns about fuel demand and the economic outlook.
The Qatari Index (.QSI), which traded after a suspended session, rose 0.6%, supported by a 5.3% gain in the Qatar Islamic Bank (QISB.QA).
However, Qatar National Bank (QNBK.QA), the largest lender in the Gulf, fell 1.5% as the stock traded ex-dividend.
According to Nejm, the Qatari market has stabilized to a certain extent, while natural gas prices have stopped falling in recent days but have remained subject to downward movement.
($1 = 3.6729 UAE Dirham)
Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru
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