Mideast Stocks: Egypt bourse surges on cenbank reforms, Abu Dhabi near record high

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The Egyptian stock market surged on Thursday following an IMF deal and the central bank's announcement on economic reforms, while the Abu Dhabi index advanced within a whisker of a record high.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Egypt have reached a $3 billion funding deal that will run over 46 months, the IMF said. Egypt's central bank said it was introducing a series of new instruments, including currency swaps and forwards, to allow banks greater flexibility in currency trading.

The central bank also raised interest rates by 200 basis points in an out-of-cycle meeting, saying it aimed to anchor inflation expectations and contain demand-side pressures.

Egypt's blue-chip index leapt 4.9%, its biggest intraday gain since early August, boosted by a 9.2% surge in Commercial International Bank Egypt. Earlier this week, the Egyptian prime minister said that the country aims to give income tax breaks to companies that can reach up to 55% for some.

The Egyptian market rose significantly as international investors returned to a certain extent, said Fadi Reyad, Chief Market Analyst at CAPEX.com for the Middle East and North Africa. "The market could find more support from the strong banking sector's performance." Thursday's gains diminished year-to-date losses to 7.3%.

In Abu Dhabi, the index jumped 2.1% to 10,296 points within a whisker of record high hit on Aug. 12 this year. Multiply Group, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi conglomerate International Holding Company (IHC), surged 8.2%, to an all-time high, ahead of its earnings announcement. Shares of IHC were up 4.1%.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index finished 0.8% lower, with Retal Urban Development Co retreating 4.3% and Saudi National Bank (SNB) tumbled 6.3%. SNB said on Thursday it was taking part in Credit Suisse Group's CSGN.S capital raising and committed to investing up to 1.5 billion Swiss francs ($1.52 billion) to take a stake of up to 9.9%.

Dubai's main share index gained 0.6%, with blue-chip developer Emaar Properties climbing 1.6%, while top lender Emaar Properties closed 1.1% higher following a 51% rise in net profit.

The Qatari index added 0.5%, snapping four sessions of losses, with Qatar Navigation advancing 5.4%. However, the index posted a weekly loss of 3.1%, its third weekly fall. On the other hand, Qatar Insurance plunged 6.3% after the insurer turned to nine-month loss of 130.7 million riyals ($35.91 million), from a profit of 498.2 million riyals year ago.