Oman and Qatar continue their tussle for the best-performing stock markets of the Gulf this year as Oman reverses two days of losses to post gains on Wednesday and Qatar ends lower on profit taking.
Doha’s main index overtook Oman’s as the highest-returning GCC index in trading on Tuesday when the benchmark rocketed 1.65% higher to close on 12,289.40 points.
But the profit taking opportunity was too much for Qatari investors on Wednesday as they took advantage of the gains in recent days to consolidate holdings and pare back positions.
Qatar’s main index ended lower for the session as Commercial Bank of Qatar and Industries Qatar fell 0.82% and 1.17% respectively. The benchmark closed on 12,210.57 points, down 0.64% from Tuesday’s multi-year high.
Muscat clawed back some of the losses from recent days to post positive results on Wednesday to reverse a trend that had seen it’s measure usurped as the Gulf’s frontrunner for the year.
Telecom provider, Omantel, and Renaissance Services led the market higher. The two rose 2.28% and 3.52% respectively to boost the index to 11,399.99 points, up 0.48% for the session.
Now the Gulf Arab region’s second-best performing bourse, Muscat’s measure has risen 25.57% so far this year.
“We are seeing interest from foreign investors in the market. Liquidity is driving the stocks,” Sankar Kailasam, head of research at Gulf Investment Services told newswire Reuters.
Elsewhere in the Gulf, Saudi posted yet another loss and continues to languish as the GCC’s worst-performing index for the year. UAE measures also dipped while Bahrain and Kuwait posted modest gains.
Saudi Basic Industries (Sabic) and Saudi Arabian Fertilizers led the Tadawul All Shares Index lower when the two closed down 1.07% and 1.49% respectively. The index slipped another 0.63% to close on 9,672.62 points.
Shares of developers dampened the performance of the UAE’s two indexes. Giant real estate developer, Sorouh, coupled with telecom provider, Etisalat, to drag Abu Dhabi’s measure down for the fifth straight day.
The two slipped 2.33% and 1.66% respectively, while the index ended 0.64% lower to close on 4,904.89 points.
In Dubai, Emaar fell 1.31% and Dubai Investments Company shed 2.4% to drag on the benchmark down for the third consecutive day. The market closed the session 0.55% lower on 5,619.46 points.
Bahrain’s measure rose 0.11% to 2,879.26 points, as Bahrain Islamic Bank lifted 1.13%.
Kuwait’s market also finished the day in positive territory as Ahli United Bank and Agility climbed 1.47% and 1/02% respectively. The benchmark closed on 14,971.40 points, up 0.41%.
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