Most of the Gulf’s major stocks rebounded early losses to close slightly higher on Thursday, as investors in the region remain optimistic despite weak US consumer demand data and fears of a global recession.
The latest US consumption data has renewed fears of a global recession. In addition, Chinese data showed that the world’s second-largest economy grew by just 2.9% in the fourth quarter of last year, its worst performance in nearly half a century.
Oil, which fuels growth in the region, also underperformed before rebounding slightly, pushing Brent futures to $85.34 a barrel by 1415 GMT, according to Reuters.
The Saudi Arabia index rose 0.2%, helped by a 2.1% gain in the Arab National Bank.
Oil giant Saudi Aramco rose 0.2%.
The Dubai index rose 0.1%, driven by a 2% gain in Emirates Central Cooling Systems Company and a 0.7% gain in Emaar Properties.
The Qatari index also jumped 2.1%, ending a seven-session loss with almost all listed stocks up. Shares in the Gulf’s largest bank, Qatar National Bank, rose 3.5% after record losses in most sessions this week.
Outside the Gulf region, the Egyptian index of leading stocks rose 0.5%, continuing its gains since yesterday, Wednesday.
However, the Abu Dhabi index fell 0.5% as shares of First Abu Dhabi Bank, the country’s largest lender, continued to fall to close 0.6%.
