DUBAI/NEW YORK: Dubai's bourse mounted a late-session rally yesterday to end higher for a fourth day in five as investor risk appetite increased, while Qatar National Bank lifted Doha's index after the lender reported second-quarter profit growth.
Dubai's index climbed 1 percent to 1,505 points to finish at its highest close since May 10.
Emaar Properties advanced 1.7 percent, Dubai Islamic Bank gained 1.6 percent and mortgage lender Tamweel added 2.4 percent.
The Dubai market rallied on Tuesday after Saudi Arabia approved a long-awaited mortgage law, with investors buying into real estate stocks in the Kingdom as well as Emaar, which is a shareholder in Saudi firm Emaar Economic City.
"Dubai was due for profit-taking, but the risk money was allowed in by the mortgage law in Saudi, which had a positive impact on Emaar," an Abu Dhabi-based trader who asked not to be identified said. "There is potentially a mini-rally on the cards before Ramadan starts, but all this depends on Q2 results."
The month of fasting is expected to start in the third week of July and companies in the United Arab Emirates will start to announce quarterly earnings around the same time.
In Doha, Qatar National Bank climbed 0.9 percent to its highest close since May 28.
Qatar's largest listed lender posted a 16.7 percent jump in second-quarter net profit. The 2.1 billion riyals ($576.7 million) profit was in line with four analysts polled by Reuters, who expected 2.15 billion riyals.
"The numbers were in line with expectations but were still good. It's a slightly illiquid name when international interest starts rising so there's potential upside," said Marwan Shurrab, vice-president and chief trader at Gulfmena Investments.
Doha's benchmark closed 0.2 percent higher, trimming year-to-date losses to 5.8 percent.
Egypt's main index rose 0.7 percent. On Wednesday it fell 1.4 percent from a seven-week high.
Hashem Ghoneim of Pyramids Capital said foreign investors, who had been net sellers for weeks, had begun buying again in the last two or three days after optimism spread that the election of Mohamed Mursi would bring a period of stability and growth back to Egypt.
Egypt's biggest builder, Orascom Construction Industries, gained 3.1 percent.
In Kuwait, Zain notched its biggest daily drop in seven weeks - down 2.8 percent - after its Iraqi unit was fined $12,864 a day since September 2011 for not listing a portion of its shares before a regulatory deadline expired.
Zain and rivals Asiacell and Korek are mandated to list on the local bourse as part of their $1.25 billion operating licenses but all three missed an initial deadline of last August.
Kuwait's bourse ended little changed.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 20.25 points, or 0.16 percent, at 12,923.57. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 3.30 points, or 0.24 percent, at 1,370.72. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 4.99 points, or 0.17 percent, at 2,981.07
European shares hit a fresh two-month high after China's rate cut and extended gains following the ECB decision. Prices edged back later on worries the moves could signal further bleak economic news ahead.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of leading European shares was down 0.09 percent at 1,044.73, although for the week it showed a gain of 1.8 percent.
The MSCI world equity index, which gained briefly on the Chinese rate cut, was down 0.04 percent at 314.86.
Spot gold fell half a percent to $1.606.80 an ounce after a gain above $1,623 on the China rate move.
Crude oil in New York and copper futures in London fell 1 percent each, after conceding early gains.
The euro slumped against a range of currencies, including a one-month low against the dollar. It was last down 1.1 percent against the dollar at $1.2380, after falling as low as $1.2362.
Dubai stocks hit 8-week peak
