The main Gulf stock markets closed on a mixed note yesterday, but a 10% uptick in Qatar Insurance Company shares resulted in an increase in the Qatari index.
According to Reuters, Qatar’s main index rose 0.7 percent, ending three consecutive sessions of losses, thanks to a rise in its financial stocks.
Qatar Insurance Co, the Gulf’s largest insurance company, rose about 10% for the second consecutive session, with approximately nine million shares trading, resulting in a trading volume of more than 15 million riyals, the highest since September.
Saudi Arabia’s index was pressured by real estate and banking shares. The Kingdom’s benchmark index fell 1%, recording its sixth consecutive decline. The luxury real estate developer Retal Urban Development lost 3% while Al Rajhi Bank was down 1.8%.
The Muscat index climbed 0.2 percent to 4,659 points, boosted by the services and manufacturing sectors.
Read more: GCC markets mostly positive, ahead of earnings report
The services sector increased by 0.9 percent, led by Al-Suwadi Power, which rose by 9.38 percent, and SMN Power Holding, which expanded by 7.41 percent.
Additionally, the industrial sector increased by 0.08 percent, with Voltamp Energy increasing by 9.43 percent and “Al Jazeera Steel” growing by 1.61 percent.
On the other hand, the Bahrain index fell 0.1 percent to 1937 points under pressure from the financial and basic materials sectors.
The stock market saw 863,467 thousand shares traded for a total of 261,808 thousand dinars. The financial sector fell, with the Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait losing 2.21 percent of its share, and the basic materials sector fell, with Aluminum Bahrain (Alba) dropping 0.32 percent of its share.
The Egyptian Stock Exchange’s main index rose 1.2 percent closing at 17,213 points in Cairo, supported by gains in nearly all sectors.
Commercial International Bank shares increased by 1.3 percent, while Telecom Egypt climbed by 4.2 percent.
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