Saudi and Egypt lead Mideast market rally

Major Gulf stock markets rose on Sunday in line with strength in global bourses at the end of last week, with Saudi Arabia and Egypt leading.
The Saudi index rose 0.8 percent to 7,145, bouncing for a second straight day from technical support around 7,000 points in very heavy trade.
After initially pulling out of the market in the wake of Saudi Arabia’s crackdown on corruption, announced early last month, retail investors have been coming back in after it became clear that damage to the economy due to the crackdown was not as serious as feared.
Real estate firm Dar Al Arkan, the most heavily traded stock, continued a spectacular uptrend. It surged 9 percent to SR14 ($3.73), having jumped from around SR7.50 in mid-November, when MSCI said it was adding the stock to its Saudi Arabia Index.
Petrochemical firm Saudi Kayan surged 6.2 percent to SR10.64. Many analysts consider it fully valued, however; the median target price of six analysts surveyed by Reuters is SR9.65.
Egypt’s index ended a four-day losing streak, climbing 0.7 percent, but trading volume remained light.
Cleopatra Hospital jumped 7.9 percent after saying its capital increase had been 99.8 percent subscribed, while Misr Cement soared 10 percent as the price of rights in its capital increase rocketed 11.7 percent.
The Qatari index climbed 0.7 percent; it has been trading near six-year lows for a month and appears to have established strong support in that area. Gulf International Services added 4.4 percent.
Dubai came off early highs to end just 0.1 percent higher while Abu Dhabi climbed 0.4 percent on the back of a 4.4 percent gain by Dana Gas, after the CEO of its major shareholder Crescent Petroleum told the Al Khaleej news service that the main documentation for Dana’s $700 million of outstanding sukuk was governed by UAE law.
Dana is seeking to avoid redeeming the sukuk after it matured in October, arguing that it is no longer valid under UAE law. A London court found against Dana last month, but Dana is continuing to fight its case in a UAE court.

Source:AFP