Qatar’s stock market ended three sessions of losses and outperformed the Gulf region on Tuesday, while the Abu Dhabi stocks extended losses on price corrections.
In Qatar, the index advanced 1.5%, as most of the stocks traded in positive territory, including Qatar Islamic Bank, which gained 2.2%.
The rebound in Qatari stock market came as the country signed a new natural gas delivery agreement with Germany, Fadi Reyad, Chief Market Analyst at CAPEX.com.
“At the same time, natural gas prices remained on an uptrend.”
Germany is set to receive new flows of Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG) from 2026 after QatarEnergy and ConocoPhillips on Tuesday signed two sales and purchase agreements for its export covering at least a 15-year period.
QatarEnergy and German utility firms have been thrashing out long-term LNG deals for much of this year as Berlin looks for alternatives to Russia, which is Germany’s biggest gas supplier.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index added 0.1%, helped by a 3.1% jump in oil giant Saudi Aramco.
Crude prices, a key catalyst for the Gulf’s financial markets, jumped by 3% on hopes of a relaxation to China’s strict COVID-19 controls after rare protests in Chinese cities over the weekend.
Chinese health officials said on Tuesday the country plans to speed up COVID-19 vaccinations for elderly people, aiming to overcome a key stumbling block in efforts to ease unpopular “zero-COVID” curbs.
Dubai’s main share index finished 0.5% higher, led by a 3% rise in budget airliner Air Arabia.
In Abu Dhabi, the index eased 0.1%, hit by a 0.6% decrease in the country’s biggest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank.
The Abu Dhabi bourse continued to see downward pressures in a second wave of price corrections since reaching a new high at the beginning of the month, said Reyad.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index concluded 2% higher, buoyed by a 4% jump in Commercial International Bank.
SAUDI ARABIA rose 0.1% to 10,752
ABU DHABI lost 0.1% to 10,392
DUBAI gained 0.5% to 3,304
QATAR advanced 1.5% to 11,800
EGYPT added 2% to 13,184
BAHRAIN was flat at 1,865
OMAN closed flat at 4,614
KUWAIT eased 0.1% to 8,427