Indexes gain, Saudi Home Loans rises on debut

An investor monitors a screen displaying stock information at the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange June 25, 2014

Major Gulf indexes rose on Wednesday, in tandem with global markets and crude prices, where concerns about tighter oil supplies from Russia and Libya dominated.

Asian share markets advanced in choppy trading as investors grappled with high U.S. yields and China’s cautious economic policy response to pandemic lockdowns.

Dubai’s main share index (.DFMGI) was up 0.6%, having ended the previous session 1.6% higher.

Real estate stocks continued to boost sentiment, with blue chip developer Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU) up 1.7%.

Amlak Finance was the top percentage gainer, up 11.3% after the company’s shareholders approved continuing its operations.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index (.TASI) climbed 0.3%, rebounding from a 1.7% fall in the previous session.

Shares of Saudi Home Loans opened at 22 riyals on their trading debut, higher than the IPO price of 20 riyals.

Solutions by STC (7202.SE) rose 2.6%, a day after the communication services company posted higher quarterly profit.

Sentiment was muted in Abu Dhabi (.FTFADGI) and Qatar (.QSI), with both indexes up 0.1%.

Shares of Qatar Navigation (QNNC.QA) were up 2.5% after the maritime firm posted higher quarterly profit. The stock was the top percentage gainer on the Qatari index.

Reporting by Tanvi Mehta in Bengaluru Editing by Mark Potter

This article was originally published by Reuters.

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