Dubai and Qatar indexes ended higher on Tuesday, while Saudi Arabia’s fell more than 1% after a series of gains and as demand concerns weighed on the price of its main export oil.
Crude prices were volatile as investors balanced demand prospects against tight global supplies after Libya halted some exports and as factories in Shanghai prepared to reopen following a COVID-19 shutdown.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index fell 1.1% in its biggest daily percentage loss since Feb. 24.
“The Saudi stock market inched lower today as investors moved to secure their gains after a series of increases,” said Farah Mourad, Senior Market Analyst of XTB MENA.
Investment firm Kingdom Holding Company closed up 2%, a day after the company posted higher quarterly profit.
Shares of Sulaiman Alhabib fell 1.4% as the company began trading ex-dividend.
The Abu Dhabi index slipped 0.4% while Egypt’s blue-chip index fell 0.9%.
Financials weighed on sentiment in Egypt, with index heavyweight Commerce International Bank Egypt ending 2.8% lower.
Dubai’s main share index jumped 1.6%, marking its best day since March 28.
The Qatari index recouped initial gains to end 0.6% higher.
Qatar Islamic Bank closed 3.5% higher, while Qatar International Islamic Bank rose 2%.
Qatar National Bank was the biggest drag with its nearly 2% drop.
SAUDI ARABIA down 1.1% to 13,576
ABU DHABI 0.4% to 9,904
DUBAI added 1.6% to 3,646
QATAR rose 0.6% to 14,006
EGYPT shed 0.9% to 10,627
BAHRAIN was down 0.2% to 2,093
OMAN rose 0.2% at 4,262
KUWAIT 1% to 9,183
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