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Kuwait continues charge while Dubai struggles

Gulf markets posted mixed results on Wednesday with Kuwait building on the previous day's record close while Dubai extended losses into a third day despite a stellar performance from construction giant Arabtec.

Elsewhere in the region Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi all piled on gains, while Oman and Bahrain both fell, with Muscat's main index snapping a winning streak of seven consecutive trading days.
Kuwait's main index closed higher for the sixth time in seven trading days, steered by banks. Kuwait Finance House rose 1.37% and National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) 1% to lift the benchmark 0.42% to 14,687.20 points.

In Dubai it was the banks that weighed on the main index. Emirates NBD fell 0.91% to help pull the benchmark 0.08% lower for the day on 5,431.87 points.

The index closed down even through shares of Arabtec skyrocketed 7.38%, its largest single-day gain in over three months, on news it had won an $817 million contract to build around 2,300 houses in the emirate.

Qatar continued its strong upward trend of late, closing higher for the seventh consecutive trading day on the back of expectations for strong first quarter results.

Commercial Bank of Qatar and Masraf Al Rayan led the way, soaring 3.7% and 4.93% respectively. The index finished up 1.56% on 10,236.37 points.

Samba Financial Group and Saudi Arabian Fertilizers Company (Safco) led the Saudi bourse to its third consecutive gain, rising 2.37% and 2.6% respectively.

The main index, the Gulf's worst performer this year, gained 0.83% to 9,501.72 points. The index is down more than 14% this year.

Abu Dhabi continues a streak that has seen its benchmark rise for five of the last six trading days. Telecom Etisalat led the way on news it plans to make an acquisition in India before the summer.

The stock gained 1.67%, helping the index 0.92% higher to finish the day on 4,804.18 points.

“The UAE markets should be performing well because they are not exposed to global downturns and investors are expecting good Q1 results,” Amr Diab, head of sales at EFG-Hermes in Dubai, told newswire Reuters.

Meanwhile, Oman, the region’s best performing market this year, shed 1% on the back of profit-taking to close on 10,757.09. Bank Muscat fell 3.77% after rising over 7% this month to Tuesday's close.

“We are facing profit-taking because the market went up sharply in the last few days,” Adel Nasr, a brokerage manager at United Securities in Muscat, told Reuters.

Bahrain's benchmark fell 0.61%, hit by Arab Banking Corporation, which plunged 6.25%.

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