UAE, Saudi indexes log monthly gain as ME markets mixed

DUBAI: Middle Eastern stock markets closed mixed on Monday, with indexes in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia logging monthly gains amid rising oil prices and improving business activity in their non-oil sectors.

Brent crude futures have gained more than 3% this month and are up more than 34% year-on-year, according to Refinitiv Eikon data.

The United Arab Emirates’ non-oil sector expanded in April as the seasonally adjusted IHS Markit UAE Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) edged up to 52.7, its highest level since July 2019 and the fifth consecutive month it has held above the 50.0 line that separates growth from contraction.

Saudi Arabia’s PMI rose 55.2 in April, remaining above the 50 mark for the eighth straight month.

The index in Abu Dhabi closed 0.7% higher, ending the month with a 8.5% rise, its eighth consecutive monthly gain.

Market heavyweights First Abu Dhabi Bank climbed 3.2%, while Emirates Telecommunications Group fell 0.6%. The Dubai index dropped 0.4%, hit by property shares as the blue-chip developer Emaar Properties declined 1.7% and Damac Properties decreased 3.6%.

Losses were partially offset by Emirates NBD Bank, which advanced 1.9%.

Dubai’s index logged its third monthly gain this year, rising 7.4% for the month.

Saudi Arabia’s all shares index closed flat, registering a fifth consecutive monthly gain, adding 1.3% for the month.

Al Rajhi Bank and Dr. Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical Services Group were down 0.4% and 0.1%, respectively, while Riyad Bank increased 1.2% and Saudi Basic Industries was up 0.5%.

The Qatari index closed 0.2% higher with the financial shares eclipsing the losses in energy sector. Commercial Bank and Qatar International Islamic Bank increased 1.9% and 1.8%, respectively, while Qatar Electricity and Water shed 3.5%.

Qatar’s index lost 1.5% in May, logging its second monthly fall this year.

Outside the Gulf, Egyptian blue-chip index was up 0.1%, but recorded a fourth consecutive monthly decline this year. Commercial International Bank eased 1.3%, while CI Capital surged 6.9%.