DUBAI: Kuwait's stock market rebounded on Sunday, with financial shares leading broad-based gains as it reopened after a two session break following the death of the country's Emir, while most Gulf markets retreated in response to Friday's oil price slide.
Kuwait's 91-year old Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah died on Tuesday, plunging his country into mourning. Kuwait's benchmark premier index jumped 3.1%, its biggest intraday gain since mid-April, as all the stocks on the index ended in higher. Kuwait Finance House advanced 4.2%, while National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) was up 2.9%.
State-run Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, meanwhile, agreed a 1 billion dinar ($3.27 billion) loan with NBK and Kuwait Finance House, NBK said in a filing to the exchange.
On Saturday, the Kuwait central bank affirmed its commitment to the strength of the dinar and stability of its exchange rate, it said on Twitter. In Saudi Arabia, the benchmark index retreated 1.4%, with oil company Saudi Aramco shedding 1.8% and Al Rajhi Bank falling 1.4%.
Brent crude on Friday fell more than 4% to $39.27 a barrel after US President Donald Trump tested positive for Covid-19, roiling financial markets, and as rising global crude output threatened the oil market's weak recovery.
Dubai's main share index fell 0.9%, dragged down by a 2.1% decline in Shariah-compliant lender Dubai Islamic Bank as well as a 1.8% drop in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties.
The Abu Dhabi index ended flat, with Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank losing 1.1%. In Qatar, the index lost 0.5%, hit by a 0.8% fall in petrochemical maker Industries Qatar and a 0.6% drop in the Gulf's largest lender Qatar National Bank. Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index edged up 0.2%, helped by a 2.8% rise in tobacco monopoly Eastern Company.
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