Major Middle East stock markets rose on Wednesday as a leap in oil prices boosted petrochemical and energy-related shares across the region. Egypt ended a three-day losing streak as emerging markets gained globally. Brent crude jumped 5.4 percent on Tuesday, closing above $50 a barrel for the first time in a month, and rose further to $52.90 during the Gulf day on Wednesday.
The US Energy Information Administration predicted in a report that global oil demand would grow by the most in six years in 2016 while non-Opec supply would stall. Overall, the report suggested a global supply glut might be easing. If oil prices have indeed bottomed out - which remains uncertain - that would be very good news for Gulf equities, since much of their weakness has been due not to the absolute level of oil prices but to fears that they could sink further.
The Saudi stock index climbed 1.9 percent as daily trading volume expanded 58 percent, a positive technical sign. Top petrochemical maker Saudi Basic Industries, its earnings highly sensitive to oil, surged 4.1 percent. Three other petrochemical firms were among the 10 most heavily traded stocks, and all of them rose. Meanwhile, some banks beat forecasts as the third-quarter corporate earnings reporting season began. Alinma Bank, the most heavily traded stock, gained 1.8 percent after reporting a 13.3 percent rise in quarterly profit. Analysts had expected roughly flat earnings.
Banque Saudi Fransi rose 2.7 percent after posting a 10.2 percent rise in third-quarter net profit. Analysts had been expecting growth of around 5 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data. But Riyad Bank fell 0.7 percent after announcing a 16.5 percent fall in profit that it blamed on declining operating income. Analysts had predicted flat earnings.
Dubai's stock index rose 1.4 percent to 3,712 points as trading volume nearly doubled. It rose above technical resistance around 3,700 points, which capped it repeatedly in September. A second straight close above 3,700 would confirm a break and point the index up to around 3,900 points, the size of its recent range suggests. Real estate developer DAMAC surged 4.3 percent and was the market's second most heavily traded stock after the company said it was starting a month-long roadshow to showcase its portfolio and promote Dubai as investment destination. It will attend events and exhibitions in India, Britain and Kenya.
Abu Dhabi climbed 0.8 percent as bluechip Aldar Properties gained 2.9 percent. Qatar rose 0.9 percent as drilling rig provider Gulf International Services jumped 4.8 percent and petrochemical producer Industries Qatar climbed 2.1 percent. Egypt's market, which had been soft this week because of poor purchasing managers' data and EFG Hermes' downgrade of the market to neutral, strengthened along with Asian stock markets. The Cairo index added 1.6 percent. Qalaa Holdings surged 3.7 percent after it said it had received a preliminary offer from Qena Cement to buy stakes in its subsidiaries ASEC Minya and ASEC Ready Mix Concrete.
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