Gulf stocks trade higher after Eid holiday

Most major Gulf stocks traded in positive territory on Wednesday after the Eid holiday, taking their cue from global equity markets which rose after Washington delayed tariffs on some Chinese imports.

President Donald Trump backed off his plan to impose ten percent tariffs on September 1 on remaining Chinese imports, delaying duties on cellphones, laptops and many other consumer goods in the hopes of blunting their impact on U.S. holiday sales.

Among individual markets, Dubai’s index rose 0.4 percent as most of its real estate stocks traded higher, with blue-chip developer Emaar Properties gaining 1.1 percent.

Damac Properties advanced 1.6 percent after the owner and operator of the only Trump-branded golf club in the Middle East reported 50.6 million dirhams in net profit for the second quarter, beating an EFG-Hermes forecast of 37 million dirhams.

In Qatar, the index advanced 0.5 percent, led by a 1.5 percent rise in the Gulf’s largest lender Qatar National Bank and a 0.9 percent gain in Qatar Islamic Bank.

In Abu Dhabi, the index edged up 0.1 percent, with Emirates Telecommunications Group rising 0.7 percent.

Capping the gains was Waha Capital, which plunged 5.9 percent after it swung to second-quarter loss.
Saudi Arabia’s stock market is to resume trading on Sunday after its Eid break.

Source: Reuters