A recovery in the price of oil and stabilising Asian equities finally provided some comfort for shares across the Arabian Gulf on Tuesday, with regional bourses enjoying their best day in months.
The Qatar Stock Exchange led regional exchanges, closing up 5.5 per cent, its largest gain in more than a year.
Shares in Dubai and Abu Dhabi rose by 3.3 and 2.4 per cent respectively, their highest one-day gains since late August, while Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index finished 4 per cent higher.
When asked if on Tuesday’s rally was a dead cat’s bounce, Sanyalak Manibhandu, the head of research at Abu Dhabi-based NBAD Securities said: “The cat’s clearly trying to do more than bounce but it’s not clear whether it’ll succeed.”
“Crude’s recovery really helped markets today, but if it weakens further we’re going to resume the race to the bottom.”
Brent crude futures rallied by 5 per cent to within touching distance of $30 per barrel, later retreating to $29.29, hinting that the market has priced in the prospect of increased Iranian oil production.
Asian markets traded in positive territory. The Shanghai Composite was up around 3.2 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei closed half a per cent higher.
jeverington@thenational.ae
Follow The National's Business section on Twitter