Aldar lifts Abu Dhabi, Egypt extends losses

Abu Dhabi's index closed higher on Monday boosted by gains in Aldar Properties following a government projects management deal, while Egypt's stock market extended losses as Commercial International Bank Egypt continues to drop following removal of its chairman by the central Bank.

The Abu Dhabi index advanced 1.2% as Aldar Properties surged 14.9%, its biggest daily gain since December 18, 2014.

The real estate developer will take over the management and development of government capital projects worth 30 billion dirhams ($8.2 billion) under an agreement with state-backed ADQ.

The Egyptian blue-chip index fell 0.9% to extend the losses for an eighth straight day.

Commercial International Bank Egypt declined 1.8% in its third consecutive day of fall.

On Friday, the chairman of the country's largest lender Hisham Ezz al-Arab stepped down with immediate effect under orders from the central bank, which cited compliance concerns at the Egyptian lender.

Saudi Arabia's index rose as much as 1.4% in opening trade a day after it plunged 4.1%, but closed flat after volatile trading during the day.

Saudi Aramco fell 1.2% extending losses from the previous session.

Among the gainers, Dr. Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical Services Group, which reported a 50.9% rise in quarterly profit on Sunday, increased 2.5%.

The Qatari index closed flat as Commercial Bank lost 2.7% following a 22% drop in nine-month net profit to 1.15 billion ($315.93 million) riyals.

Among the gainers, Qatar National Bank was up 0.7% and Qatar Gas Transport rose 2.6%. Kuwait's index dropped 2%, with all the trading stocks closing in the red. National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) led the losers, declining 2.4%.

The bank reported a 38% drop in third-quarter net profit, hit by higher provisioning for bad debt and the slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dubai's index closed down 0.5% with Emirates NBD Bank shedding 1.7% and Damac Properties retreating 4.6%.