Gulf stocks move little though Dana soars on Kurdistan news

Gulf stock markets moved little in sluggish trade early Sunday, weighed down by a lack of positive economic and corporate news, though Abu Dhabi’s Dana Gas soared after saying it won a major court judgment in its dispute with Iraqi Kurdistan.

Dana jumped its 15 percent daily limit after saying a tribunal of the London Court of International Arbitration had directed the Kurdish regional government to pay $1.98 billion to a consortium including Dana within 28 days. There was no immediate comment from the Kurdish government.

Elsewhere, there was little incentive to buy stocks; Brent oil slipped back below $45 a barrel at the end of last week while global equity markets were soft.

Abu Dhabi’s stock index edged up 0.1 percent. Dubai’s index slipped 0.3 percent as property and construction firms remained soft because of signs of an economic slowdown in the region; Emaar Properties dropped 0.7 percent.

Qatar’s index lost 0.6 percent as Gulf International Services, due to be removed from MSCI’s emerging market index at the end of this month, fell a further 1.9 percent.

Source: Reuters