Middle East markets muted after Mubarak exit; Dubai's Emaar up

Dubai's Emaar Properties edged higher on Sunday, shrugging off a 62 percent decline in fourth-quarter profit, as Middle East markets gave a muted response to the end of Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule in Egypt.
"The market has accepted the peaceful transfer of authority in Egypt, but there are worries as to how fast the Egyptian economy can stabilise," said Youssef Kassantini, a Saudi-based financial analyst.
Emaar climbed 0.3 percent after being up as much as 2.8 percent intraday. The developer made a quarterly profit of 274 million dirhams ($74.6 million), missing forecasts and down from 720 million dirhams a year earlier after it took 417 million dirhams in impairments and provisions.
"Emaar is priced at a premium to peers, while this is justified, we are cautious given the rising uncertainties," said Majed Azzam, AlembicHC real estate analyst.
"The best years are over for Emaar and there will probably be deterioration in both the top and bottom line in 2011, driven by margin compression as well as more impairments." Emaar's impairments were likely to have come from mortgage affiliate Amlak and Dubai Bank.
"We remain positive on the medium-term prospects for Emaar particularly as ancillary corporate distractions get resolved," Chet Riley, Nomura property analyst, wrote in a research note. "We retain our buy rating and would accumulate on weakness." Abu Dhabi-listed Dana Gas, which is active in Egypt, rose 4.5 percent.
Kingdom Holding fell 0.5 percent after extending a deadline for its offer to buy a 25 percent stake in telecoms firm Zain Saudi Arabia for a second time.
Zain Saudi climbed 1.3 percent to a four-week high and rival bidder Bahrain Telecommunications Co rose 0.4 percent.
Saudi Basic Industries Corp fell 0.7 percent after oil slumped to a 10-week low on Friday, with petrochemical prices closely tied to crude. "Mubarak's fall was already factored in and affter recent volatility, the market should move sideways, although oil is weaker and so there could be downside risk in petrochemicals," said a Riyadh-based trader who asked not to be identified.
Kuwaiti banks were mixed as the index slumped to a 23-week low.
"Liquidity is low and people are waiting for the market to take a direction," said Jasem al-Zeraei, head of institutional sales at NBK Capital. He said this was likely to come with the publication of companies' full annual results.
"The bank sector is getting the bulk of interest and it seems like people are parking their cash there for the time being," Zeraei added. Qatari banks rose to lift Doha's index to a two-week high.
In early February, Qatar's central bank said conventional banks must stop their Islamic operations by the end of 2011, pushing Islamic bank stocks higher, while shares in some conventional banks weakened.
"The separation of Islamic and conventional banking will allow for a stricter and more uniform interpretation of sharia rules," said Robert Pramberger, acting head of asset management at Doha-based The First Investor.