Kuwait, Qatar shares rally as bailout looms

Dubai: Markets in Qatar and Kuwait gained on Thursday as investors took heart from government measures to shore up the bourses and a rally in global stocks.

Oman's bourse ended flat, while Bahraini stocks inched up.

Blue-chips lifted the Kuwait index as investors bought into companies they believed would be the target of the government's new fund to invest into the country's sagging bourse, which has dropped nearly 30 per cent since the beginning of the year.

"Volumes were pretty good today and most of the trading was focused on large caps they think the KIA (Kuwait Investment Authority) will be targeting once it starts buying," said Jasem Al Zeraei, supervisor of brokerage at National Bank of Kuwait.

National Bank of Kuwait and Kuwait Finance House gained 2.67 per cent and 3.41 per cent respectively.

Finance Minister Mustafa Al Shamali said earlier this week that the government would begin using a new fund to invest in the bourse immediately after Eid Al Adha.

In Qatar, the benchmark ended 1.71 per cent higher, with Commercial Bank of Qatar and Qatar Gas and Transport (Nakilat) rising 5.06 per cent and 1.85 per cent respectively.

"The market is being affected by the increases in the American and European markets," said Mohammad Abu Goush, head of the equity brokerage at Ahli Bank.

Global cues

Markets in the Gulf region have been taking their cue from movements on global bourses, particularly since the global financial crisis intensified in October.

Moves to shore up the Qatari banking sector by the government and banks themselves were also helping to whet risk appetite, Abu Ghoush said.

Qatar Islamic Bank and Qatar International Islamic Bank, which have announced a share buyback plan, ended up 1.8 per cent and 4.67 per cent respectively.

Markets in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia were closed.