Dubai: Oman's Al Jazeira Services surged on Sunday following gains in its investment portfolio, helping Muscat's index hit a 19-week closing high.
Al Jazeira climbed 6.3 per cent to its highest finish since July 15.
"Al Jazeira is catching investor eyes mainly because of a rise in its investment portfolio, which includes Galfar Engineering," says Gunjan Gupta, head of research at Oman Arab Bank.
Al Anwar Ceramic Tile climbed 6.2 per cent to 0.325 riyal (Dh3.1). Anwar and Al Jazeira together accounted for more than a quarter of all shares changing hands on the index. Galfar rose 1.2 per cent, taking its gains to 11 per cent since saying it had won a 35.3 million Oman riyal contract on September 21. The index climbed 0.9 per cent to 6,512, its highest finish since May 18.
Saudi Arabia slips
In Saudi Arabia, banks slipped, weighing on Saudi Arabia's index in early trade. Al Rajhi Bank, the kingdom's largest listed lender by market capitalisation, fell 0.9 per cent, Saudi Investment Bank dipped 1.8 per cent and SABB slides 0.6 per cent. The index fell 0.3 per cent to 6,434, easing from Saturday's 18-week high.
"We maintain our positive bias towards the index and continue to assign a high probability to an upside break," Shuaa Capital wrote in a research note. "Therefore, we recommend holding the positions while dynamically increasing the protective stops."
Banks headed losers on Kuwait's index as investors booked profits for a second session since Wednesday's four-month high, but the market was seen heading upwards by the end of the week.
