The emirate’s benchmark rallied 4.49 percent, and Dubai’s main index also posted its biggest one-day gain in one month, gaining 4.13 percent in the second-highest volume seen on the bourse so far this year.
Qatar’s benchmark was the Gulf Arab region’s strongest performer, rising 5.88 percent, led by bank stocks that were boosted by last week’s announcement that the government had purchased 6.5bn rials ($ 1.79bn) worth of listed banks’ investments.
“We are seeing new positions coming into the market, especially from international institutions… It’s the effect of the local plan announced last week and in part the global issues, the US plan,” said Samer Al Jaouni, general manager at Middle East Financial Brokerage Co. Qatar National Bank added the most points to the index, rising 9.54 percent, while Commercial Bank of Qatar rises 9.15 percent.
World stocks hit five-week highs yesterday on hopes the US plan, detailed on Monday by US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, will revive the world’s largest economy.
Kuwait bucked the rising trend, with bluechips taking a hit after investor hopes that long-awaited legislation to stimulate the Gulf Arab state’s economy—badly hit by the global financial crisis—would be passed by the cabinet were not realised. “There were rumours yesterday the economic stimulus bill will be approved but we didn’t hear anything about that. The market is reacting,” said Jassem Al Zeraei, head of institutional sales at NBK Capital. Shares in Mobile Telecommunications Co (Zain) fell 4.28 percent.
