Gulf markets rebound amid Israel-Iran conflict
Doha
Stock markets in the Gulf ended higher on Monday, recovering some of their losses from previous sessions when they were jolted by the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran.
The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) general index closed Monday's trading higher by 177.880 points, or 1.73 percent, a day after falling more than 3 percent to close at 10,464.800 points. During the session, 239,968,300 shares, valued at QR566,446 million were traded in 32,908 transactions across all sectors.
Shares of 46 companies rose and four companies saw a decline in their share price, while three others maintained their previous closing price.
Market capitalisation at the end of the trading session amounted to QR616.497 billion compared to QR604.495 billion in the previous session.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index advanced 1.3 percent, led by a 1.5 percent rise in Al Rajhi Bank and a 6.9 percent jump in ACWA Power Company.
The upward trend mirrored similar movements in both Asian and European markets, where a temporary improvement in sentiment was bolstering investor appetite, said Osama Al Saifi, Managing Director for MENA at Traze.
'This optimism was partly fuelled by positive economic data from China, which showed an acceleration in retail sales despite US tariffs,'he said.
Dubai's main share index added 0.8 percent, with utility firm Dubai Electricity and Water Authority rising 2.2 percent.
In Abu Dhabi, the index closed 0.2 percent higher.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index inched 0.1 percent higher, helped by a 1.4 percent rise in Commercial International Bank. On Sunday, the index fell 4.6 percent marking its biggest intraday fall in about 14 months.
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