Bank and property sector drive Gulf shares up; Kuwait index dips

Dubai: Gulf shares gained, led by Alinma Bank and Emaar Properties PJSC, as interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve pushed Asian stocks higher and OPEC sought to reduce oil production.

Kuwait's benchmark declined.

Alinma Bank, the start-up Saudi Arabian Islamic bank that raised $2.8 billion in an April stock offering, advanced for the third time this week. Emaar, the Middle East's biggest publicly traded real-estate company, rose for the first time in four days.

Bank Muscat SAOG gained the most in more than a month. Kuwait cut interest rates on Wednesday, while the United Arab Emirates decided to leave them unchanged.

Saudi Arabia's Tadawul climbed 2 per cent to 4,938.77 at 11:32am local time, paring the decline for the year to 55 percent.

The Dubai Financial Market General Index added 0.1 percent, while the Muscat Securities Market 30 Index gained 1.3 percent.

“The markets reflect the positive international leads'' after the rate cuts in the US, said Ali Khan, head of cash equity trading at Dubai-based Arqaam Capital Ltd. “OPEC's oil cut should be positive in the short-term.''

Asian stocks rose to a five-week high after the Fed and Hong Kong cut interest rates to a record low. Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali Al Naimi said the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' 2 million-a-day production cut will start at the beginning of next year as the group tries to halt a five-month slide in oil prices at its meeting in Algeria today.

Rate Cuts

Kuwait cut its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point, following the Fed's decision to reduce its target rate to near zero. The Saudi central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by half a point on Tuesday before the Fed decision. The UAE. central bank said on Wednesday it will keep its benchmark rate unchanged at 1.5 per cent.

The Kuwait Stock Exchange Index dropped 1.3 per cent, while Qatar's DSM 20 Index fell for the first time in eight days, retreating 1 per cent. The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index lost 0.1 per cent. Bahrain's exchange is closed for a second day for a national holiday.

Alinma Bank added 0.9 per cent to 11.65 riyals. Emaar rose 1.4 per cent to 2.94 dirhams. Bank Muscat, Oman's largest lender by market value, added the most since November 5, climbing 5.3 per cent to 830 baizas.

Al Khalij Commercial Bank QSC dropped 3.3 per cent to 7.45 riyals. The Qatari lender said its board approved the issue of as much as 20 per cent new shares to Qatar Investment Authority. The bank will also invest $100 million in BLC Bank (France) SA it acquired in November.