DOHA: Qatar’s stock market rebounded in early trade on Thursday after losing 9.7 percent since neighbouring Arab states cut diplomatic and trade relations with it early this week, while an overnight plunge in oil prices weighed on Saudi Arabia’s bourse.
Qatar’s stock index was up 2.5 percent after an hour of trade with all 17 companies that have a market capitalisation of over $1 billion rebounding.
Industrial conglomerate Aamal Co, in which the Qatari ruling family has 28 percent ownership, was the top performer, soaring 9.1 percent. Its shares had lost 15.6 percent in the previous three sessions. Qatar National Bank, the largest listed bank, rose 1.1 percent to 135 riyals; it is now trading at an 11.5 percent discount to its average fair value, according to a Thomson Reuters survey of analysts.
Dubai’s index edged up a further 0.3 percent after it had climbed 2.5 percent on Wednesday on news that the largest listed real estate developer, Emaar Properties, plans to spin off its local real estate unit and offer its shares to the public. Emaar was up 0.8 percent on Thursday morning and other property-related shares also gained, with builder Drake & Scull up 4.8 percent.
In Abu Dhabi, the index rose 0.3 percent as Dana Gas continue to outperform, adding 3.9 percent. It leaped 10.9 percent on Wednesday after saying it had received $40 million from the Egyptian government towards its outstanding receivables.
Saudi Arabia’s index, however, fell 0.6 percent in the first 45 minutes of trade as most petrochemicals fell after Brent oil futures tumbled 4 percent overnight. Saudi Basic Industries was down 0.9 percent.
Some Saudi shares have been rising on expectations that they will attract foreign money if MSCI launches a review on June 20 of whether to upgrade Riyadh to emerging market status. They were relatively resilient on Thursday; dairy producer Almarai was up 1.4 percent.
