Cairo’s index fell 1.4 percent to 5,349 points, its lowest finish since March 28. All but two of the 30 stocks on the index fell, with Egyptian Resorts dropping 7.9 percent and real estate developer Palm Hills declining 2.8 percent.
Private equity firm Citadel Capital rose 2.3 percent. ASEC Company for Mining (ASCOM), 39-percent owned by Citadel, has discovered large gold reserves in an area near the border between Ethiopia and Sudan, newspaper Al Ahram reported.
Dubai’s index rose 0.9 percent to 1,570 points — a seven-week high as Dubai Investment Co. climbed 2.9 percent and Emaar Properties rose 1.3 percent.
“We are seeing interest returning to the UAE as a safe haven from regional turmoil - people are also accumulating positions ahead of a possible MSCI upgrade,” said Matthew Wakeman, EFG-Hermes managing director for cash and equity trading.
Index compiler MSCI will announce in June whether it will raise the UAE and Qatar bourses to emerging markets.
Both countries are currently rated as frontier markets, but have failed to meet key requirements to be upgraded, while low trading volumes and regional unrest are also dampening prospects, some traders said.
“Investors expect Q1 earnings to be okay and UAE stocks are pretty good value compared to elsewhere in the region,” said Wakeman. “Sentiment toward the UAE has changed a lot over the past few months.”
Local and foreign investors are buying UAE stocks, he added, but property and bank results will determine whether markets can mount a sustained rally, with these sectors dominant.
The Abu Dhabi stock index climbed 0.4 percent to 2,609 points.
Saudi Arabia’s Riyad Bank fell 1.1 percent. The bank, the Kingdom’s third largest by market value, reported an 8.3 percent rise in first-quarter profit following improved income from banking services.
The Tadawul All-Share index (TASI) eased 0.03 percent to 6,606.69 points.
The Qatar benchmark rose 0.9 percent to 8,744 points.
The Kuwaiti measure slipped 0.1 percent to 6,339 points.
The Omani index rose 0.3 percent to 6,326 points.
The Bahraini index climbed 0.6 percent to 1,419 points.
