Middle East markets: Egypt, Saudi indices up

Kuwaiti logistics firm Agility fell on Wednesday after an adverse US court ruling, while markets in Egypt and Saudi Arabia climbed, bucking a regional trend. Kuwait's index slipped 0.5 percent, snapping a three-day rally, as Agility dropped 5 percent after a US court ruling against the company spurred a sell-off. Agility faces charges it defrauded the US Army in multibillion-dollar contracts.
Egypt's main index rose for a fourth straight session, led by investment bank EFG-Hermes and Commercial International Bankas investors focused on companies seen as less exposed to political turmoil. "Investors are generally scared of the great volatility in the market, with some stocks tumbling then gaining 10 percent," said Amal el-Sayed, a trader at Cairo Capital Securities.
"So, they target well-reputed blue chip stocks, especially banks like CIB and EFG-Hermes." EFG surged 7.9 percent after reporting 27 percent rise in 2010 net profit. Market heavyweight CIB gained 3.3 percent. Saudi Arabia's index rose 0.7 percent, up for the fifth day in seven on optimism about first-quarter earnings.
"People will want to see some conviction before putting more money to work," said Shehzad Janab, asset management head at Dubai-based Daman. "Expectations are that it's going to start seeing some strong numbers coming through." Saudi Basic Industries Corp jumped 2.4 percent.
"Q1 earnings will be excellent for the petrochemical sector. Also, we expect a bit of encouragement in the banking sector. These two sectors should pull the market forward for Q1, going into Q2," said Youssef Kassantini, a Saudi-based analyst. Bank Aljazira gained 0.5 percent after it completed a 1 billion riyal ($267 million) 10-year Islamic bond sale which was four times oversubscribed.
"The important thing is that Saudi is stabilising," said Janab. "There are huge amounts of government money being poured in - that's tempering the situation. You've seen confidence returning in the market and Q1 numbers are key." Abu Dhabi's index inched down, and Emirates Telecom (Etisalat) shed 0.5 percent as the operator scrapped plans to bid for Syria's third mobile licence.
In Dubai, Emaar Properties shed 1.6 percent, giving back gains from Tuesday after shareholders approved a surprise 10 percent cash dividend. "Investors are not happy with Emaar's 10 percent dividend," said Shadi Ramadan, head trader at Al Dhafra Financial Broker. "They were expecting it to be around 20 percent."
Dubai's index fell 0.8 percent to a weekly low. The benchmark is down about 5 percent this year. "Technical indicators called for a correction. Every customer is a speculator in the market now. The lack of liquidity is making it difficult for the market," Ramadan said.
Oman's Renaissance Services extended Tuesday's losses after its chairman reportedly said the company may delay a Dubai-based subsidiary's London listing if market sentiment affects valuation. Renaissance fell 3.9 percent and the index shed 1.8 percent.