Stock News: UAE, Qatar Markets Rise On Earnings

Markets in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar rose in early trade on Wednesday on the back of solid third-quarter corporate earnings and strengthening global equities.

Dubai’s index rose 1.8 per cent and lender Emirates NBD was one of the main supports, jumping 2.6 per cent after it beat analysts’ forecasts by a wide margin and reported a doubling of third-quarter net profit.

Abu Dhabi’s benchmark gained 1.4 per cent and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank was up 1.3 per cent. The lender reported a 16.4 per cent rise in third-quarter profit on Wednesday, in line with forecasts.

Two other major UAE lenders, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and First Gulf Bank, climbed 2.1 and 2.3 per cent respectively.

Qatar’s index rose 0.7 per cent as most shares gained.

Global equities, from which many investors in the Middle East have been taking cues since last week, advanced on Tuesday as technology earnings lifted U.S. shares and the prospect of European Central Bank corporate bond purchases boosted European stocks.

Oil prices, which have little direct impact on Gulf stocks but contributed to negative sentiment with their sharp drop over the last few months, steadied with Brent crude futures trading above $86 per barrel on Wednesday.