Qatar bourse outperforms Gulf peers, Abu Dhabi near record

Investors speak in front of a stock information screen on the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange in the United Arab Emirates, June 25, 2014.Reuters/Stringer

Aug 17 (Reuters) – Qatari stocks outperformed their Gulf peers on Wednesday as natural gas prices rose, while the Abu Dhabi index edged closer to a record closing high set on Aug. 11.

U.S. natural gas futures rose about 3 percent on Wednesday to a 14-year high on lower daily production, warmer-than-normal weather on the West Coast and Texas and near-record global prices.

Qatar Benchmark Index (.QSI) Up 1.8%, most stocks in the index including Qatar Islamic Bank were in positive territory (QISB.QA)rose 3.8%.

Ahmed Fouad, head of sales at Emporium Capital, said the Qatari stock market continued to find support amid a surge in natural gas prices, which are still in demand due to the heat this summer.

In Abu Dhabi, the index (.FTFADGI) It closed up 0.7%, near last Thursday’s record high, led by International Holdings (IHC) (IHC.AD).

IHC is the most valuable company on the Abu Dhabi Exchange, with a market value of about $167 billion, up more than 120 percent so far this year.

Across industries from healthcare to real estate to IT and utilities, IHC made 70 acquisitions this year worth AED10 billion ($2.7 billion).

Saudi Arabia Benchmark Index (.one) Up 0.8%, with Retal Urban Development Co (4322.SE) rose 1.3 percent, while Saudi Research and Media (4210.SE) It surged 10% after reporting quarterly profit growth.

Dubai’s main stock index (.DFMGI) Gained 1.3%, boosted by blue-chip developer Emaar Properties jumping 3.3% (Emar. You) Ahead of a board meeting on Thursday to discuss selling its e-commerce fashion business.

The operator of Dubai International Airport said on Wednesday that more than 14 million passengers passed through the airport in the second quarter and raised its forecast for this year to 62.4 million.

Beyond the Gulf, Egypt’s Blue Chip Index (.EGX30) It closed up 2.2%, with major bank Commercial International Banking up 3.2% (COMI.CA).

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi accepted the resignation of central bank governor Tarek Amer more than a year before the end of his second term and appointed him as an adviser to the president, Sisi’s office said on Wednesday. read more

(1 USD = 3.6727 UAE Dirham)

Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru; Editing by David Holmes

Our standard: Thomson Reuters fiduciary principles.