Gulf rises, Qatar's Mesaieed sees heavy volume

DUBAI: Gulf stock markets rose in early trade on Sunday with Qatar's Mesaieed Petrochemical again attracting unusually heavy trading volume.

The Qatari index climbed 1.4 percent; it has been trading near six-year lows for a month and appears to have established strong support in that area.

Mesaieed, the most heavily traded stock, gained 1.2 percent. On Thursday, Mesaieed had posted its largest volume since April 2016. All 10 of Qatar's most active stocks rose and drilling rig provider Gulf International Services added 4.3 percent.

Saudi Arabia's index rose 0.4 percent with real estate firm Dar Al Arkan continuing a strong rally. It climbed 2.0 percent to 13.10 riyals, having jumped from around 7.50 riyals in mid-November, when MSCI said it was adding the stock to its Saudi Arabia Index.

Petrochemical firm Saudi Kayan, the most heavily traded stock, surged 4.8 percent to 10.50 riyals. Many analysts consider it fully valued, however; the median target price of six analysts surveyed by Reuters is 9.65 riyals.

Dubai gained 0.5 percent with Union Properties  rising sharply for a second straight day. It climbed 3.0 percent to 0.86 dirham, having tested and confirmed support in the past three weeks around 0.80 dirham.