Most regional bourses ended higher yesterday, buoyed by positive global cues, but trading was mostly quiet as many investors awaited first-quarter earnings before committing more funds.
Kuwait's index hit a 29-month closing high yesterday as traders sold blue chips to buy into more liquid small-cap stocks. The benchmark rose 0.6%; it is up 26% from November's eight-year low.
"Since the beginning of the year, the market has been dominated by day traders and speculators - every little sell-off is inviting new entrants to the market, building it higher," said Fouad Darwish, head of brokerage at Global Investment House.
National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) ended unchanged. Kuwait's biggest listed company reported near-flat first-quarter earnings on Wednesday.
Among losers in Kuwait were telecommunications operator Zain and Boubyan Bank, which dropped 1.4 and 1.6%.
Meanwhile, Oman's index suffered its largest decline in three weeks as disappointment over Bank Sohar's earnings triggered a market-wide sell-off.
Bank Sohar fell 3.1%. Oman's fifth-largest listed bank posted a 14.1% rise in first-quarter profit, not as much as analysts had hoped.
"Bank Sohar's results were below expectations and triggered strong selling in the market," said Adel Nasr, United Securities brokerage manager in Oman. "But this selling was mainly from (individual) traders and we saw accumulation from funds and institutions. Foreign investors are still bullish on Bank Muscat and were continuous buyers despite the stock falling."
The Omani index fell 0.9%, its fourth straight decline. About 15.7mn shares trade, a two-month low.
Saudi Arabia's index ended nearly flat, reversing its early declines, which were spurred by poor quarterly earnings from blue chip petrochemical firms. The benchmark added 0.01%. The Saudi benchmark added 0.01% to 7,099 points
Dubai's index ended higher for an eighth session in 11, climbing 0.5%. It is being boosted by a recovering real estate market and signs that the outlook for banks is improving.
Abu Dhabi's index advanced 0.3% to 3,097 points.
Elsewhere, Bahrain's measure slipped 0.5% 1,088 points.
© Gulf Times 2013
