Zain stocks fall amid sale talks

SHARE PRICE: Zain stocks fell 2.6 percent, reversing initial gains. (Getty Images)

Zain fell 6.4 percent after the telecom operator confirmed its shareholders are in talks to sell a stake in the group, steering Kuwait's index to a lower close.

"The stock is falling on profit taking because it has gone up a lot in the last couple of weeks. People are selling the news," says Shahid Hameed, head of asset management, GCC, at Global Investment House in Kuwait.

National Investments Co ended 7.8 percent higher after it said one of its clients was reviewing a sale of 46 percent of Zain's shares.

Kuwait's bourse eased 0.1 percent to 7,821 points.

Saudi Arabia's bourse ended 0.4 percent higher at 5,692 points, led by Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) and Samba Financial Group.

SABIC climbed 1.1 percent and Samba 1.2 percent. The kingdom's benchmark ended higher for a second session in three.

Dubai's Arabtec ended 5.8 percent higher after the UAE's largest listed contractor approved plans to set up a new subsidiary to provide concrete for Saudi Arabia's market.

Dubai's bourse closed 0.6 percent higher at 1,970 points, rising for a third trading day.

Abu Dhabi's benchmark climbed 0.8 percent to 2,956 points.

Qatar's bourse ended 0.5 percent higher at 7,111 points.

Muscat's benchmark ended higher for a third trading day, led by Shell Oman Marketing, which surged 10 percent.

Oman continued to hit fresh highs for the year, boosted by strength in global equities, firm oil prices and expectations of positive earnings in the third quarter.

The main index closed up 0.1 percent up at 6,487 points. (Reuters)

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