Kuwait bourse extends winning run

Shares in Kuwait led a day of positive gains throughout the Arabian Gulf on Sunday, with only Abu Dhabi finishing in the red.

The Kuwait Stock Exchange Index extended its winning run to an unprecedented 13th straight day, closing up 3.2 per cent at 6,644.77, as confidence fuelled by the prospect of stock market reforms and higher oil revenues showed no sign of abating.

The index is the second best performer in the world so far this year, behind Argentina’s Merval Index, rising by nearly 16 per cent over the past three weeks.

Shares in Dubai began the week brightly, closing up 0.7 per cent at 3,716.98.

Emaar Properties led big-name gainers, finishing up 0.8 per cent at Dh7.61.

DIB closed up 1 per cent at Dh6.05, ahead of the anticipated release of the bank’s fourth-quarter results this week. Shares in Arabtec Holding, which is due to hold its board meeting today, rose 0.7 per cent to Dh1.46.

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index ended a busier than average trading day down 0.1 per cent at 4,698.78, owing to drops by FGB and Etisalat.

Trading was dominated by Eshraq Properties and RAK Properties, which finished up 13 per cent and 7.6 per cent. The two real estate companies together accounted for nearly two-thirds of the 585 million shares traded on the bourse.

Shares in Saudi Arabia rose for a second straight day, as traders took time to digest the implication of last week’s fourth-quarter earnings from big names. The Tadawul ended the day up 0.34 per cent to 6,898.93, thanks to gains by Al Rajhi Bank and Saudi Industrial Investment Group.

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