Doha: Qatar Exchange pursued its upswing trend yesterday, adding 41 points (or 0.49 percent) to advance to 8,409.33 points from 8,368.33 on Tuesday. Among the top gainers were Qatar National Bank which was up 0.69 percent to QR131.90, Industries Qatar rose 1.97 percent to QR155.60, Commercial Bank gained 0.78 percent to QR65 and Qatar Insurance was up by 2 percent to QR56.10.
The banking and financial sector index was up 0.40 points, the consumer goods and services sector index added 0.24 points, the industrial sector gained 2.04 points while the insurance sector rose 1.06 points.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s bourse dropped for a fifth straight session as a further fall in oil prices and weak global markets weighed on shares. In Kuwait, the measure rose 0.6 percent to 7,086 points, a fresh 29-month high, as investors increased positions ahead of first-quarter earnings.
In Dubai, the index snapped a three-session losing run, gaining 0.1 percent, as bargain-hunters returned ahead of first-quarter numbers. The market was led by budget carrier Air Arabia, which jumped 4.7 percent - its biggest one-day hike since February 2012.
Oman’s bourse dipped 0.1 percent as heavyweight Bank Muscat slumped 1.1 percent after posting a 25 percent drop in first-quarter earnings.
HIGHLIGHTS
SAUDI ARABIA: The index fell 0.5 percent to 7,060 points.
KUWAIT: The measure climbed 0.6 percent to 7,086 points.
DUBAI: The index gained 0.1 percent to 1,970 points.
ABU DHABI: The index declined 0.1 percent to 3,091 points.
EGYPT: The measure fell 0.7 percent to 5,259 points.
OMAN: The index eased 0.1 percent to 6,233 points.
QATAR: The benchmark rose 0.5 percent to 8,409 points.
BAHRAIN: The measure was flat at 1,092 points.
Reuters
