DUBAI: Most major stock markets in the Gulf ended higher yesterday in thin trade ahead of Eid Al Fitr holidays, with financials and petrochemical shares boosting the Saudi index.
The benchmark index gained 0.9 per cent, with petrochemical maker Saudi Basic Industries climbing 2.5pc, while Al Rajhi Bank added 0.5pc. The kingdom’s economy shrank 3.3pc in the first quarter from a year earlier, hit by oil output cuts, but the non-oil economy expanded 3.3pc, recovering from the impact of the pandemic, flash government estimates showed yesterday.
In Dubai, the main share index finished 0.4pc higher, with its top lender Emirates NBD rising 1.2pc after investment bank J.P. Morgan Cazenove raised the target price of the bank to 14.15 dirhams with an upgrade to overweight. Another stand-out was shopping centres operator Emaar Malls , which gained 1.5pc.
The Abu Dhabi index eased 0.1pc, hit by a 0.8pc fall in First Abu Dhabi Bank, the country’s largest lender.