Gulf Arab markets face mixed cues on Sunday and are seen trading sideways, with Saudi Arabia’s bourse rising on Saturday while global markets extended declines a day earlier.
“It will be quiet across the region today, I’m not expecting any major moves,” says Sebastien Henin, portfolio manager at The National Investor. “In the context of low volatility, I don’t see volumes picking up.”
Gulf market volumes have slumped in recent sessions as wary investors cut risk ahead of the summer.
Global stocks fell on Friday as uncertainty over Europe’s Festering debt crisis overcame an early bounce driven by better-than-expected U.S. consumer sentiment, while oil prices fell.
Saudi Arabia’s index slumped to an 11-week intraday low in early trade on Saturday, but this drop drew in bargain hunters and it ended 0.2 percent higher at 7,233 points.
“I’m not too sure that profit-taking is over in the short-term, but I’m still very optimistic on the country,” Henin adds. “I’m sure there is a lot of money on the sidelines waiting for the right opportunity. Yesterday was a good sign of that.”
Most Gulf markets fell last week, with Dubai tumbling to a three-month low of 1,515 points.
“Dubai is testing its long term moving average and its major intermediate support between 1,460 and 1500,” Musa Haddad, head of MENA equity desk at National Bank of Abu Dhabi wrote in a note.
“Rebounding and holding above current levels is an intermediate term positive signal to resume its strong performance since the beginning of 2012.”
Dubai-listed telecoms operator du may extend gains after its chief executive said it may bid for a virtual operator licence in Saudi Arabia in its first foreign foray.
The firm on Thursday reported a 62 percent rise in first-quarter net profit, beating analysts’ estimates. Its shares bucked the market trend and rose 1.6 percent.
Elsewhere, Qatar National Bank, the Gulf state’s largest bank, is in talks with banks on refinancing a US$1.85bn loan maturing July 22, two sources said on Thursday.
Qatar Telecom has asked banks for proposals about a US$1bn commercial paper programme, three sources said on Thursday, in what would be a rare example of a Middle Eastern entity using such an instrument.
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