Abu Dhabi hits record high, major Gulf bourses gain

DUBAI: Major stock markets in the Gulf ended higher on Thursday, amid rising oil prices, with the Abu Dhabi index hitting a record high.

Brent crude oil futures were up 39 cents, or 0.5%, at $75.13 a barrel by 1254 GMT, as crude stockpiles in the United States, the world's top oil consumer, fell to their lowest since January 2020.

GCC stock markets opened in the black as US oil stockpiles continued decreasing, revealing strong consumption and an active economic recovery, said Daniel Takieddine, senior market analyst at FXPrimus.

"The reduced stockpile has propped crude prices up which gave a boost to the region's stock markets."

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index rose 0.7%, with Al Rajhi Bank increasing 1.1% and Saudi Telecom Company surging 3.4%.

The kingdom's oil exports value increased 147% in May to just over 60 billion riyals ($16.00 billion) from a year earlier while non-oil exports rose by 70%, official data showed on Wednesday.

In Abu Dhabi, the index advanced 1%, hitting a record high, buoyed by a 2% rise in First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) .

FAB, the United Arab Emirates' largest lender, on Wednesday posted a net profit of 2.88 billion dirhams ($784.14 million) in the quarter ended June 30, up from 2.4 billion a year earlier.

Dubai's main share index added 0.5%, with sharia-compliant lender Dubai Islamic Bank rising 1.7% and blue-chip developer Emaar Properties closing 1.8%.

The Qatari index rose 0.4%, with petrochemical maker Industries Qatar gaining 1.3%, while Commercial Bank added 0.9%, extending gains from the previous session when it recommended a shareholder meeting to increase foreign ownership limit to 100%.

On the other hand, telecoms firm Ooredoo fell 0.7% after it posted a net loss of 1.15 billion riyals ($315.93 million) for the second-quarter, versus profit of 432 million riyals year ago.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index lost 0.3%, as most of the stocks on the index were in negative territory including Fawry for Banking Technology and Electronic , which was down 3.2%.