Major Gulf stocks rise; banking and real estate shares boost UAE

Major Gulf stock stocks increased in early trade on Tuesday, with banking and real estate shares helping indexes in the United Arab Emirates, according to Reuters.

Dubai’s main share index rose 0.5 percent, with its largest lender Emirates NBD rising 0.7 percent and blue-chip developer Emaar Properties was up 1.1 percent.

Elsewhere, Arabtec Holding advanced 2.8 percent. The region’s largest listed contractor appointed Waleed Ahmed Al Mokarrab Al Muhairi as chairman.

The Abu Dhabi index traded 0.5 percent up, as the country’s largest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank gained 0.9 percent, while Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank was up 1.3 percent, a day after the sharia-compliant lender said it had raised its foreign ownership limit to 40 percent from 25 percent.

However, the gains were capped by losses at Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, which retreated 1.7 percent after announcing financial closing of its largest independent gas-fired power plant in the United Arab Emirates.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index added 0.2 percent. Riyad Bank gained 1.6 percent and oil giant Saudi Aramco was up 0.5 percent.

In Qatar, the index rose 0.4 percent, driven by a 0.8 percent gain in Qatar Islamic Bank and a 0.7 percent increase in the Gulf’s largest lender Qatar National Bank.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Qatar exceeded 100,000 on Monday, its health ministry said.

With a population of about 2.8 million people, the energy-rich Gulf state has one of the world’s highest per capita numbers of confirmed cases.