DUBAI: Kuwait’s small-caps helped lift the bourse to a 26-month high yesterday as investors bet on improving earnings, while other regional markets were mixed.
Kuwait’s index climbed 0.5 percent, its highest close since January 2011.
Turnover in the last three weeks has reached its highest levels since early 2012, a positive sign.
Small-caps dominated trade with leisure firm National Ranges surging 14.3 percent and International Financial Advisors rising 6.9 percent.
In Qatar, the market halted a three-session winning streak, losing 0.5 percent. Investors booked gains ahead of a new listing in May on Qatar’s exchange, which hasn’t seen an initial public offer since November 2009.
Doha Global Investment Co, a new $12bn Qatari investment firm backed by the sovereign wealth fund, will offer its shares to the public.
Although in the long term its presence could aid the market, the offer will only be open to citizens, companies and institutions in Qatar, and the drain on liquidity could be negative in the run-up to the offer. Foreign investors will only be able to buy the shares after they are listed.
Local investors are selling shares to raise money that they will invest in Doha Global, and this trend is likely to continue gradually in coming weeks, traders said.
“If the IPO is Islamic, there will be a higher participation from Qatari investors,” said Yassir Mckee, wealth manager at Al Rayan Financial Brokerage Co. “(The selling pressure) would open up buying opportunities for foreign and longer-term investors depending on how much the prices decline.”
Losers outnumbered gainers 16 to three. Industries Qatar and Qatar National Bank decline 0.6 and 0.7 percent respectively.
In Saudi Arabia, the bourse ended little changed. Shares in Jarir Marketing rose 2 percent after posting estimate-beating first-quarter earnings.
Elsewhere, Dubai’s measure declined 0.3 percent, halting three sessions of gains. Emaar Properties dipped 2.2 percent.
Abu Dhabi’s index eased 0.09 percent, down from Thursday’s 41-month closing high.
Any break above resistance on the February intra-day peak of 3,069 points would trigger a bullish right triangle formed by the lows of the last few weeks, and pointing up to the 3,180-point area.
In Egypt, recent selling pressure brought in bargain hunters. The index rose 1 percent, extending gains since Wednesday’s four-month low. Reuters
