MIDEAST STOCKS-Qatar continues rebound early on, rest of Gulf mostly weak

DUBAI – 5 December 2017: Qatar’s stock market continued to rebound early on Tuesday on hopes that its diplomatic dispute with other Arab states could move towards resolution, while most other Gulf markets were weak.

The Qatari index climbed 0.5 percent in the first 45 minutes of trade after surging 2.2 percent on Monday. Real estate developer Ezdan Holding, which has been hit hard this year by a property market slump deepened by the diplomatic crisis, soared its 10 percent daily limit and was the most heavily traded stock.

Ezdan said in May that it planned to go private, and some traders said shareholders might be trading the stock to ensure a minimum price when that happened.

The Qatari foreign minister said on Sunday that Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani was expected to attend the annual summit of Gulf Arab heads of state in Kuwait on Tuesday and Wednesday.

On Monday, the foreign minister met his Gulf Arab counterparts in Kuwait, sitting around a large wooden table in Bayan Palace with representatives from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain to make preparations for the summit.

Geopolitics also affected the Saudi Arabian market where the index dropped 0.4 percent after rising for nine straight days. Najran Cement fell back 3.5 percent after soaring along with other cement stocks in the past two days.

The killing of former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh by Iran-aligned Houthi militia in Sanaa on Monday was a morale boost for the Houthis and could be a serious blow to the Saudi-led coalition fighting them, analysts said.

Dubai’s index slipped 0.5 percent in a broad-based decline; 28 stocks declined and only three gained. Abu Dhabi edged down 0.2 percent.