Dubai bourse rises for sixth session; Saudi falls
Dubai's stock market rose in early trade on Wednesday and was headed for a sixth straight session of gains, while weak oil prices weighed on Saudi shares.
Dubai's main share index (.DFMGI) gained 0.8%, boosted by a 5.1% jump in Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (DU.DU).
Dubai is planning an initial public offering of business park operator TECOM Group on the local stock exchange, the emirate's Media Office reported on Tuesday.
The Dubai government last month announced plans to list 10 state-backed companies on its stock market as part of plans to boost activity on the local bourse.
It also said it plans to set up a 2 billion dirham market maker fund to encourage more private companies to list.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI) fell 0.3%, hit by a 0.4% dip in Al Rajhi Bank (1120.SE) and a 1.4% decline in Saudi National Bank (1180.SE), the kingdom's biggest lender.
Oil prices, a key catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets, eased after two days of gains, as investors waited for an assessment of the full impact of the Omicron coronavirus variant on global economy and fuel demand as well as the effectiveness of existing vaccines.
Shares of Saudi Tadawul Group (1111.SE), the kingdom's stock exchange operator, rose as much as 20% to 126.6 riyals in their stock market debut.
Tadawul had set its initial public offering price at 105 riyals a piece at the top end of the indicated range, raising 3.78 billion riyals ($1.01 billion) in the deal.
In Abu Dhabi, the index (.ADI) rose 0.5%, with the country's largest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB.AD) putting on 1.3%.
Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates will shift to a working week of four and half days with a Saturday-Sunday weekend from the start of next year to better align its economy with global markets, but private companies will be free to choose their own working week.
The Qatari index (.QSI) eased 0.1%, weighed down by a 0.7% fall in Qatar Islamic Bank (QISB.QA).
($1 = 3.7511 riyals)
Dubai is planning an initial public offering of business park operator TECOM Group on the local stock exchange, the emirate's Media Office reported on Tuesday.
The Dubai government last month announced plans to list 10 state-backed companies on its stock market as part of plans to boost activity on the local bourse.
It also said it plans to set up a 2 billion dirham market maker fund to encourage more private companies to list.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI) fell 0.3%, hit by a 0.4% dip in Al Rajhi Bank (1120.SE) and a 1.4% decline in Saudi National Bank (1180.SE), the kingdom's biggest lender.
Oil prices, a key catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets, eased after two days of gains, as investors waited for an assessment of the full impact of the Omicron coronavirus variant on global economy and fuel demand as well as the effectiveness of existing vaccines.
Shares of Saudi Tadawul Group (1111.SE), the kingdom's stock exchange operator, rose as much as 20% to 126.6 riyals in their stock market debut.
Tadawul had set its initial public offering price at 105 riyals a piece at the top end of the indicated range, raising 3.78 billion riyals ($1.01 billion) in the deal.
In Abu Dhabi, the index (.ADI) rose 0.5%, with the country's largest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB.AD) putting on 1.3%.
Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates will shift to a working week of four and half days with a Saturday-Sunday weekend from the start of next year to better align its economy with global markets, but private companies will be free to choose their own working week.
The Qatari index (.QSI) eased 0.1%, weighed down by a 0.7% fall in Qatar Islamic Bank (QISB.QA).
($1 = 3.7511 riyals)