Abu Dhabi index gains for 7th day, blue-chip losses hit Egypt

The Abu Dhabi stock market rose 1% on Monday to notch its seventh straight session of gains, as aquaculture firm International Holdings surged over 12% after divesting a unit.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index finished 1.5% lower, with Commercial International Bank losing 3.2%.

On Sunday, Abu Dhabi's International Holdings said it planned to divest all its shares in defence supplier Trust International Holding for 350 million dirhams ($95.30 million).

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index closed flat, with blue-chip shares trading mixed.

Saudi Electricity Company leapt 4.7%. Last week, the utility firm reported a sharp surge in its full-year earnings.

However, Saudi National Bank, the kingdom's largest lender, fell 1.9%. It rose 3.6% a day earlier after it proposed a dividend.

Dubai's main share index advanced 0.9%, with sharia-compliant lender Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) rising 2.2%, while blue-chip developer Emaar Properties was up 1.4%.

Dubai Islamic Bank plans to tap the international debt markets with US dollar-denominated Additional Tier 1 sukuk, or Islamic bonds, as soon as this week, two sources said on Monday.

The Qatari index lost 0.6%, extending losses from the previous session, as most of the stocks on the index were in negative territory including Commercial Bank.

Last month, Qatar tightened COVID-19 restrictions ordering the closure of leisure centres, gyms and swimming pools and for shopping malls to operate at a reduced capacity of 30%, while cinemas would run at 20% capacity.