Saudi Arabian shares rose for a fifth straight session as Saudi Telecom unit solutions by stc made a strong market debut, with most major Gulf bourses heading for a quarterly gain.
The kingdom's benchmark index was up 0.2% and set to add about 4% over the July-September period, although at a slower pace than the previous two quarters.
Al Rajhi Bank gained 0.3%, while Saudi Telecom rose 0.8% as its unit, solutions by stc, surged nearly 30% on its first day of trading amid a rush of initial public offerings.
ACWA Power, partly owned by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, is set to raise $1.2 billion by offering shares.
The Saudi exchange is likely to end 2021 with over 30 new listings, the chairman of its Capital Markets Authority said on Monday. The regulator approved five new listings just in the past two days.
Dubai stocks gained 0.4% as Emaar Properties and Dubai Islamic Bank added 0.7% and 0.6%, respectively.
The Abu Dhabi index edged up 0.1%, with First Abu Dhabi Bank rising 0.2%.
The Dubai and Abu Dhabi indexes were also set for a quarterly gain.
Supported by financial shares, the Qatari index rose 0.1% as the Gulf's largest lender Qatar National Bank gained 0.3% and Qatar Insurance added 1.0%.
The index was on track to log its best quarterly gain this year, rising over 6% for the third quarter.
(Reporting by Maqsood Alam in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.) ((Maqsood.Alam@thomsonreuters.com;))
