PHOTO
* Saudi climbs for fourth straight session
* Petchem producer Alujain soars on first dividend since 1998
* Jarir gains on chairman's optimistic outlook
* Dubai up as GFH jumps after winning civil court case
* Abu Dhabi weighed by blue chips yet to report Q3 results
* Egypt's Edita Food closes at lowest historic price in volatile trade
By Celine Aswad and Andrew Torchia
DUBAI, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's stock market closed higher for a fourth straight session on Monday after last week's mega international bond sale by the government boosted sentiment, but Egyptian shares dropped further as a chronic dollar shortage weighed on sentiment.
Riyadh's stock index
.TASI
rose 1.0 percent, taking its gains over the last four sessions to 6.2 percent.
It underperformed the region earlier this year as low oil prices and government austerity measures hit the economy hard, so it may now have more room to snap back.
"At current valuations, the positive mood in the market is not likely to fade, but investors are starting to hunt for bargain buys," said a Jeddah-based portfolio manager.
Petrochemical and industrial company Alujain
2170.SE
jumped 7.6 percent after it said it would distribute a dividend of 0.5 riyal per share for 2016 - its first dividend since 1998.
Retail chain Jarir Marketing
4190.SE
gained 3.2 percent after Chairman Muhammad Alagil told Reuters that the retail sector's slump might be close to ending: "We think the sharp decline is fundamentally over, or will be over by the end of this year."
The stock had dropped 45 percent year-to-date. Alagil said it was excessively cheap and he didn't exclude the possibility of a share buy-back, though he stressed this would depend on the board's decision.
Other local demand-driven shares also firmed, with Jarir's competitor United Electronics
4003.SE
(Extra) adding 3.0 percent.
Dubai's index
.DFMGI
edged up 0.1 percent with GFH Financial Group
GFH.DU
, the most traded stock, jumping 6.4 percent after the company said it won a civil case against a former deputy chief executive at one of its units for an around of $5 million.
But Deyaar Development
DEYR.DU
fell 0.2 percent despite reporting a 22.5 percent jump in third-quarter profit; revenue for the period soared five times.
Abu Dhabi
.ADI
slipped 0.2 percent, weighed down by declines in blue chips. Telecommunication operator Etisalat
ETEL.AD
dropped 1.0 percent and First Gulf Bank
FGB.AD
lost 0.9 percent. Both companies are due to report quarterly results on Wednesday.
But Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank
ADCB.AD
added 0.7 percent, recovering from an initial drop in its first hour of trade after reporting a 17 percent fall in third-quarter profit to 999.1 million dirhams ($272 million). Three analysts polled by Reuters had on average forecast 1.10 billion dirhams. The stock rebounded in active trade to stand 0.2 percent higher.
In Qatar, the index
.QSI
dropped 0.3 percent as petrochemicals, metals and fertiliser producer Industries Qatar
IQCD.QA
fell 2.2 percent after posting a 28.9 percent drop in third-quarter net profit to 759.7 million riyals ($208.7 million). Analysts had forecast 996.6 million riyals
urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1CT0KK
.
EGYPT DIPS ON WORRY
Egypt's index of the 30 most valuable shares
.EGX30
retreated 0.6 percent. It is now down 3.3 percent since hitting a 16-month high on Oct. 16.
Edita Food Industries
EFID.CA
dropped as much 6.7 percent in early trade after the company said one of its subsidiaries has temporarily shut a factory when the government seized its store of sugar in its campaign to obtain sugar supplies. It managed to recover to close up 4.7 percent, but at its lowest ever closing price of 7.95 Egyptian pounds.
Sugar has almost vanished at supermarkets across Egypt, prompting media talk of a crisis and pushing the state to rapidly increase imports
This sparked anxiety across other commodity and export- linked sectors as a dollar shortage, which has plagued the country since 2011, remains investors' major concern. Arab Cotton Ginning
ACGC.CA
lost 1.1 percent and Arabian Food Industries
DOMT.CA
fell 0.7 percent.
MONDAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
SAUDI ARABIA
* The index
.TASI
gained 1.0 percent to 5,797 points.
DUBAI
* The index
.DFMGI
rose 0.1 percent to 3,359 points.
ABU DHABI
* The index
.ADI
fell 0.2 percent to 4,289 points.
EGYPT
* The index
.EGX30
lost 0.6 percent to 8,228 points.
QATAR
* The index
.QSI
fell 0.3 percent to 10,406 points.
KUWAIT
* The index
.KSWE
rose 0.2 percent to 5,341 points.
OMAN
* The index
.MSI
declined 0.1 percent to 5,531 points.
BAHRAIN
* The index
.BAX
added 0.1 percent to 1,149 points. (Editing by Andrew Torchia and Larry King) ((celine.aswad@thomsonreuters.com; +971562247653; Reuters Messaging: celine.aswad.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
* Petchem producer Alujain soars on first dividend since 1998
* Jarir gains on chairman's optimistic outlook
* Dubai up as GFH jumps after winning civil court case
* Abu Dhabi weighed by blue chips yet to report Q3 results
* Egypt's Edita Food closes at lowest historic price in volatile trade
By Celine Aswad and Andrew Torchia
DUBAI, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's stock market closed higher for a fourth straight session on Monday after last week's mega international bond sale by the government boosted sentiment, but Egyptian shares dropped further as a chronic dollar shortage weighed on sentiment.
Riyadh's stock index
It underperformed the region earlier this year as low oil prices and government austerity measures hit the economy hard, so it may now have more room to snap back.
"At current valuations, the positive mood in the market is not likely to fade, but investors are starting to hunt for bargain buys," said a Jeddah-based portfolio manager.
Petrochemical and industrial company Alujain
Retail chain Jarir Marketing
The stock had dropped 45 percent year-to-date. Alagil said it was excessively cheap and he didn't exclude the possibility of a share buy-back, though he stressed this would depend on the board's decision.
Other local demand-driven shares also firmed, with Jarir's competitor United Electronics
Dubai's index
But Deyaar Development
Abu Dhabi
But Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank
In Qatar, the index
EGYPT DIPS ON WORRY
Egypt's index of the 30 most valuable shares
Edita Food Industries
Sugar has almost vanished at supermarkets across Egypt, prompting media talk of a crisis and pushing the state to rapidly increase imports
This sparked anxiety across other commodity and export- linked sectors as a dollar shortage, which has plagued the country since 2011, remains investors' major concern. Arab Cotton Ginning
MONDAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
SAUDI ARABIA
* The index
DUBAI
* The index
ABU DHABI
* The index
EGYPT
* The index
QATAR
* The index
KUWAIT
* The index
OMAN
* The index
BAHRAIN
* The index