(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Gulf stock markets consolidated yesterday after oil prices and global equities steadied, while Egypt jumped on strong economic data and corporate news.
Oil moved little yesterday and Brent crude held above $50 a barrel, stronger than it was when most Gulf stock markets closed on Wednesday. Meanwhile, European stock indexes rose and emerging markets were steady as volatile Chinese markets were closed for holidays.
This allowed Saudi Arabia's main stock index to edge up 0.2%. The banking sector, up 0.5%, was the main support.
National Commercial Bank, the kingdom's largest lender, rose 1.6% and Al Rajhi, another large bank, was up 0.7%.
Growth in Saudi Arabia's non-oil private sector rose to a five-month high in August, buoyed by the impact of increasing oil production, a purchasing managers' survey showed yesterday.
However the petrochemical sector, whose profits are especially sensitive to oil prices, edged down 0.5%.
Dubai's bourse, which had suffered the most among Gulf markets from recent volatility and tumbled 4.1% in the two previous days, was the top gainer yesterday and rose 1.6%.
Property-related stocks were the main supports, with heavyweight developer Emaar Properties up 3.7% and its competitor DAMAC gaining 3.3%. Construction and engineering firm Drake & Scull surged 7.0%.
Abu Dhabi's market rose 0.6% with gains across the board.
Business activity growth in the UAE non-oil private sector accelerated in August to a six-month high, that country's purchasing managers' survey showed.
Qatar's bourse edged down 0.3% after outperforming major Gulf markets in the previous few sessions.
Meanwhile, Egypt's main index jumped 2.0% after its purchasing managers' survey showed activity grew in August at the fastest pace of 2015 on the back of solid growth in output. "This ... could be the first sign that the (Egyptian) economy has turned the corner after a weak first half of 2015," Jason Tuvey, the Middle East economist at Capital Economics in London, said in a note. "This, coupled with July's sharp drop in the headline rate of inflation, supports our view that the central bank will cut interest rates, possibly as soon as its next meeting later this month."
Power plant and cable maker El Sewedy Electric was the top gainer and surged 6.2%. The company said on Tuesday its second-quarter net profit had jumped to 537.38mn Egyptian pounds ($68.63mn) from 103.62mn pounds a year earlier, but the market had initially ignored the news amid a broad sell-off.
But Ezz Steel pulled back 2.5% after soaring 15.5% earlier in the week on news of a potentially huge gas field discovery off Egypt's coast, which could help to end the country's crippling energy shortages and ease a major constraint on Ezz's production.
Elsewhere in the Gulf, Kuwait's index slipped 0.1% to 5,758 points; Oman's index lost 0.03% to 5,749 points, while Bahrain's index was flat at 1,299 points.
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