Most Gulf stock markets closed higher on Monday, shrugging off lower oil prices. Dubai's index led the gains after the biggest ever increase in Emaar Development's share in a day, while the Egyptian index continued its decline.
Oil prices, a major driver of Gulf economies, fell today, and Brent crude futures fell $1.30, or 1.5%, to $84.53 a barrel at 12:10 GMT.
Farah Murad, senior market analyst for the Middle East and North Africa division at XTP, said that concern about demand may affect oil prices after China set growth targets that are lower than expected, according to Reuters.
She added that the Federal Reserve (the US central bank) and the European Central Bank are expected to adopt more tightened monetary policies.
The Saudi stock market index rose 0.4% at closing, continuing its rise for the fifth session, supported by gains in the health care and banking sectors. Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Services Group rose 1.7%, and Riyad Bank rose 2.5%.
The Dubai index rose 1.1%, supported by a large jump of 14.9% in Emaar Development, in its largest gain ever in a day, adding to the company's market value of 2.9 billion dirhams ($789.67 million).
Today, the company announced the distribution of cash dividends of 52 fils per share for the fiscal year 2022.
Traffic tariff company Salik jumped 4.7%.
The Abu Dhabi index rose 0.9%, an increase for the fifth day in a row, supported by a 1.4% gain for First Abu Dhabi Bank, the largest bank in the United Arab Emirates.
The share of the International Holding Company increased 0.8%, and the share of Alpha Abu Dhabi Holding rose more than 4%.
The Qatari index rose 0.7%, with most of the stocks rising on the index. Industries Qatar, a petrochemical producer, advanced 1.4%.
Outside the Gulf region, the Egyptian blue-chip index closed slightly down by 0.1%, extending its losses for the third consecutive session. Egyptian Kuwaiti Holding shares fell 2.6%.
