Doha: Qatar Exchange ended in the green yesterday adding 8.18 points or 0.08 percent to 10,368.20 points from 10,360.02 on Sunday. Among the top gainers were Qatar Islamic Bank which was up 0.43 percent to QR69.30, International Islamic gained 1.33 percent to QR60.80, Qatar Electricity and Water added 1.63 percent to QR180.90 and Gulf International was up by 1.50 percent to QR60.90.
The banking and financial sector index fell 0.19 points while the consumer goods and services sector index lost 0.17 points. The industrial sector gained 0.41 points and the insurance sector added 0.78 points.
Meanwhile, UAE markets surged in an unusual year-end trend as investors bet on a bullish 2014 outlook, while Egypt’s bourse halted a two-session decline after the government defined a timeframe for presidential and parliamentary elections.
Abu Dhabi’s index climbed 1.6 percent to a fresh five-year high, taking year-to-date gains to 62.3 percent, in its biggest one-day gain in three-and-a-half months. The bourse played catch-up to advances on neighbouring Dubai’s bourse, which has risen 105.4 percent in 2013.
“It’s a bit unconventional for such movement at the end of the year,” said Marwan Shurrab, fund manager and head of trading at Vision Investments.
Dubai’s measure rose 1.4 percent, also hitting a new five-year high, recovering from Sunday’s 0.6 percent dip. “Turnover was not high yesterday, which shows willingness of investors to hold positions going into 2014,” Shurrab said.
A strong recovery in Dubai’s property sector acted as a springboard for Dubai measure’s performance in 2013, as has its macro outlook, which has further improved due to the city-state winning rights to host the World Expo 2020 and MSCI’s decision to include UAE to its emerging market index.
In Egypt, the benchmark index added 0.1 percent. It halted two sessions of losses after Egypt’s interim president said on Sunday the government will hold parliamentary and presidential elections within six months of approval of the new constitution, to be voted on next month.
In Saudi Arabia, petrochemical and cement shares helped boost the index, which advanced 0.3 percent. Positioning for earnings and dividends lifted the petrochemical sector’s index 0.5 percent and cement’s by 0.7 percent.
Elsewhere, Kuwait’s measure slipped 0.6 percent, slumping to its lowest close since September 10. The market has been on a downtrend since early November as investors, disappointed at the government’s pace of implementing development projects, cut positions.
HIGHLIGHTS
ABU DHABI: The index climbed 1.6 percent to 4,278 points.
DUBAI: The index rose 1.4 percent to 3,332 points.
EGYPT: The index gained 0.1 percent to 6,782 points.
SAUDI ARABIA: The index advanced 0.3 percent to 8,520 points.
KUWAIT: The index slipped 0.6 percent to 7,542 points.
OMAN: The index gained 0.1 percent to 6,816 points.
BAHRAIN: The index climbed 0.1 percent to 1,229 points.
Reuters
