Egypt's benchmark index retreats; Gulf markets lower

Egypt benchmark index slips 0.7 percent on Thursday as a rally in telecom shares triggered by a France Telecom deal to buy Mobinil shares loses some of its steam. Mobinil had been rising by the maximum 10 percent allowed under exchange rules since France Telecom announced on Monday it was prepared to buy most of its outstanding shares at 202 Egyptian pounds ($33.47) each.
In Thursday's session, Mobinil rises by only 3.1 percent to 172.02 pounds and is the bourse's most active stock. "The government says it wants some more information about the deal and how it was priced, and some investors are concerned," says Hisham Metwalli of Arab Finance Brokerage, adding that he expects Mobinil to resume its climb once it answers the regulator's queries in a few days.
Other telecom shares retreat. Orascom Telecom Media loses 3.4 percent, Orascom Telecom 3.2 percent and Telecom Egypt 1.9 percent. Kuwait's index recovers most of Wednesday's losses, showing little reaction to the market regulator instructing the bourse to delist nine companies. The benchmark climbs 0.3 percent to close at 5,982 points, edging back up towards Tuesday's five-month closing high.
Dubai's Emirates NBD (ENBD) falls 4.7 percent to a three-week low, the main drag on the emirate's bourse. The lender said on Wednesday it received funding from the UAE finance ministry to help with the acquisition of the struggling Dubai Bank. Dubai's index slips 0.5 percent to 1,156 points and Abu Dhabi's benchmark declines 0.6 percent to 2,474 points. Banks are lower in Abu Dhabi, with National Bank of Abu Dhabi down 1.4 percent, First Gulf Bank slipping 0.8 percent and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank dipping 0.3 percent.
Elsewhere, Qatar's index ends 0.1 percent lower at 8,544 points. Small-caps in Dubai drag the index lower by 0.2 percent to 1,521 points. It slips for a second day since Tuesday's six-month high. Deyaar Properties falls 2.9 percent, Gulf Navigation slips 1.6 percent and Union Properties dips 2 percent. Dubai's Emaar Properties bucks the trend and gains 0.3 percent. It slipped a day earlier from a six-month high despite posting above-forecast earnings.
Elsewhere, Kuwait's Wataniya gains 1 percent. It reported on Wednesday a 57 percent rise in its fourth-quarter net profit as the telecoms operator included more consolidated earnings from its Tunisian unit. Kuwait's index reverses early-session losses, climbing 0.2 percent to 5,974 points. In Qatar, the benchmark slips 0.2 percent to 8,615 points, a two-week low.