Stock News: UAE Markets Rebound, Qatar Weakens

Stock markets in the United Arab Emirates rebounded in early trade on Wednesday as global markets started stabilising, but bourses in Qatar, Kuwait and Oman edged down.

Dubai’s index added 1.2 per cent in a broad rally while Abu Dhabi edged up 0.2 per cent. Both benchmarks have largely moved in line with U.S. and European equities this week, which appear to be consolidating after losses.

The Pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was flat on Tuesday while Wall Street put in a mixed performance overnight. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq gained modestly to break a three-day string of sharp declines, but the Dow fell for a fourth day.

Qatar’s bourse, which has shown a much weaker correlation with Western stocks this week, edged down 0.4 per cent largely because of mobile phone operator Ooredoo and conglomerate Industries Qatar, down 1.2 and 0.5 per cent respectively.

Petrochemicals are a significant part of Industries Qatar’s business and the sector’s profitability could come under pressure from lower oil prices and potentially lower demand from China, where data this week showed consumer inflation has slowed to a level not seen since 2010.

Bourses in Oman and Kuwait fell 0.2 and 0.4 per cent respectively. Gulf Finance House dominated Kuwait’s trading volumes, dropping 5.1 per cent after Fitch Ratings said on Tuesday that its “profitability remains weak and volatile and is unlikely to improve materially and sustainably until significant balance sheet and business model reshaping has taken place”.