Gulf markets trade in narrow range, lagging global markets and oil

DUBAI - 4 March 2018: Gulf stock markets were mostly mixed early on Sunday, with Abu Dhabi and Dubai trading in a narrow range, held back by low liquidity.

This was despite a rise in oil prices and a rebound for Wall Street stocks on Friday, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

“The low liquidity is still affecting the United Arab Emirates stock market and there seems little interest to allocate funds that are sitting on the side,” said Tariq Qaqish, Managing Director Asset Management at Menacorp in Dubai.

“Although we do see stocks trading at attractive levels and close to book values yet weak investor confidence is keeping investors away,” he said.

The Abu Dhabi index was up 0.1 percent.

Trading was concentrated on Ras Al Khaimah Cement, which jumped 6.3 percent after Invest Bank said on Thursday it bought shares in the company on behalf of Kuwait’s A&K International Investment.

The Dubai index was down 0.1 percent.

In Dubai, Aramex was down 1.5 percent after its board met on Thursday and proposed a full year cash dividend of 156.3 percent of paid up capital

Saudi Arabia’s index was mostly flat at 0.01 percent in the first half-hour as energy firms and materials declined, while consumer stocks rose.

Saudi Arabian Mining Company, the majority owner of the world’s largest fully integrated aluminium facility, was down 1.9 percent after Trump announced plans to impose a 10-percent tariff on aluminum imports. He will make a final decision by April 11.

Altayyar Travel Group, Saudi Arabia’s largest travel company, rose 2.2 percent.

Kuwait’s stock index was down 0.7 percent, weighed by Gulf Bank, which was down 1.5 percent

Qatar’s market was closed for a bank holiday.