Oil-related stocks rise in Qatar, most of Gulf quiet

Oil-related shares rose in Qatar early Monday but most stocks in the Gulf were quiet with few new incentives to trade.

Brent oil edged up a further 0.7 percent to $53.0 a barrel in early Asian trade on Monday, extending a strong rebound since last week. Gulf oil officials sounded bullish at a conference in Kuwait on Sunday evening, and Qatar’s energy minister declared the oil price had bottomed out.

This helped Qatari drilling rig provider Gulf International Services climb 2.3 percent and Qatar Fuel Co gain 1.9 percent on Monday. Most of the Qatar market moved little, however, with the index up 0.3 percent.

Dubai’s stock index edged down 0.03 percent although commodities shipper Gulf Navigation added 3.1 percent.

Abu Dhabi’s index was flat but Agthia Group rose 0.5 percent after saying it had agreed to acquire three small companies involved in water bottling and purification in Dubai and Oman.

Source: Reuters

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