Egypt outperforms Mideast markets; Dubai eases

The Egyptian bourse rose sharply on Thursday, ending two sessions of losses as most of its constituents were in positive territory, while most major Gulf markets also ended higher.

The blue-chip index in Egypt closed up 1.3%, with 24 of the 30 stocks in the index posting gains, including heavyweight Commercial International Bank, which rose 0.8%.

Egypt's annual urban consumer price inflation decreased to a more than one-year low of 3.4% in August, from 4.2% in July, the country's statistics agency CAPMAS said.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index rose 0.7%, with Saudi Arabian Mining Company jumping 4.9% and Al Rajhi Bank firming 0.5%.

On Wednesday, the kingdom's finance minister said Saudi Arabia's economy was likely to contract this year, but less sharply than International Monetary Fund forecasts.

Dubai's main share index slipped 0.1%, with sharia-compliant lender Dubai Islamic Bank and blue-chip developer Emaar Properties falling 0.7% each.

The emirate's non-oil private sector expanded marginally in August for the second straight month, although at a slower pace than in July as weak demand led to a sixth month of job cuts, a survey showed on Wednesday.

The Middle East's trade and tourism hub relies on foreign visitors and shoppers for a large portion of its revenues and was hit hard by virus containment measures earlier in the year.

In Abu Dhabi, the index added 0.2%, helped by a 0.4% gain in the country's largest lender, First Abu Dhabi Bank .

The Qatari index gained 0.5%, driven by a 1.2% rise in lender Masraf Al Rayan and a 0.6% increase in Qatar Islamic Bank.