Gulf stocks mixed; Arabtec boosts Dubai index

Stock markets in the Gulf were mixed on Sunday, with contracting firm Arabtec Holding helping boost Dubai while banks weighed down Qatar.

Volumes were weak as trading declined ahead of the month of Ramadan, when business activity usually slows down in the region.

“We expect a seasonal decline in overall market activity in the GCC, including Dubai Financial Market (DFM), due to the onset of the month of Ramadan,” Faisal Hasan, head of research at KAMCO Investment Co., told Argaam.

Dubai’s main index rose 0.3 percent to close at 3,386 points. Arabtec jumped 10.8 percent to AED 0.792. The contractor said it has been awarded an AED 1.46 billion contract by Wasl LLC to construct 2020 Tower, a mixed-use high-rise tower in central Dubai.

Trading on Arabtec’s rights issue also ended today, declining more than 9 percent.

Meanwhile, Drake & Scull International gained 2.8 percent to close at AED 0.366. Emaar Properties was down 0.4 percent at AED 7.43.

In Abu Dhabi, the general index fell 0.2 percent to 4,570 points. Volumes were low at AED 81.9 million. Telecom giant Etisalat was down 0.6 percent at AED 17.5, while energy firm TAQA gained 5.3 percent to AED 0.6.

Elsewhere in the region, Qatar’s QE index fell 0.5 percent. Qatar National Bank was down 1.5 percent at QAR 137.9.

Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index was last trading up 0.8 percent, buoyed by gains in oil prices last Friday.

Write to Nadeshda Zareen at nadeshda.zareen@argaamplus.com