Middle East markets: Kingdom Holding lifts Saudi index after Twitter deal

Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Holding surged on Monday after it and billionaire owner Prince Alwaleed bought a $300 million stake in Twitter, while most Gulf markets fell as the death of North Korea's leader sparked fears of instability in Asia. Kingdom Holding surged 5.1 percent to its highest close since June 21, helping lift Saudi Arabia's index by 0.1 percent.
Advanced Petrochemical rose 2.1 percent in strong buying after saying it will pay a 1 riyal-per-share ($0.27) cash dividend for the second half of 2011. It will also issue one bonus share for every 6.25 held, raising its paid-up capital to 1.64 billion riyals from 1.41 billion riyals, it said in a statement.
Saudi Chemical Co climbed 3 percent. It said on Sunday it will distribute a 2 riyals-per-share dividend for the third quarter. December 28 is the ex-dividend date. In Abu Dhabi, the index slumped to a fresh 21-month low as property stocks tumbled. Aldar Properties fell 5.4 percent and Sorouh Real Estate ended 4.7 percent lower. Both had dropped more than 7 percent intraday.
Abu Dhabi government-owned Tourism Development and Investment Co said in October it was postponing the opening of three museums, in a fresh delay for one of the largest cultural projects in the Middle East. In Dubai, contractor Arabtec rose to a 13-month high, extending gains to help lift the emirate's index by 0.1 percent.
Shares in Arabtec climbed 1.8 percent, up for a third session to reach its highest close since November 2010. Traders said an individual investor wanted to purchase a sizeable stake in the firm, but a company official denied the report. Emaar Properties fell 2.3 percent. After market hours, the developer said it had signed a $1 billion Islamic and conventional financing facility, secured by Dubai Mall.
Mashreq bank jumped 9.4 percent, in just two trades. Analyst said illiquid stocks see similar trades near year-end to boost stock prices. Qatar's index ended 0.09 percent lower and Oman's index fell 0.7 percent. Kuwait's benchmark declined 0.3 percent after the ruler called an early parliamentary election for February 2.