It accounted for about half of all shares traded on the index.
The company’s chief executive told analysts on Thursday it will consider an initial public offering (IPO) for its marine business first. It had pulled a much-anticipated IPO of its Topaz unit in March, citing valuation concerns and growing regional unrest.
The benchmark ended 0.7 percent higher, trimming its 2011 losses to 4.8 percent.
Other stocks are clawed back ground with heavyweight Bank Muscat climbing 1 percent, Oman Flour Mills rising 1.7 percent and telecoms operator Nawras gaining 0.9 percent.
In Egypt, Mobinil jumped 5.2 percent, adding to a 10 percent surge a day earlier on speculation over potential changes in its shareholder structure.
Cairo’s main index rose 0.4 percent by the close.
Magnate Naguib Sawiris said on Wednesday he had no plans to sell shares in Mobinil, his company’s mobile phone joint venture with France Telecom.
Mobinil said on Thursday the firm had not received notice from either Sawiris or France Telecom of any move by Sawiris to sell his stake in the company to the French group for 160 Egyptian pounds per share.
Orascom Telecom, Mobinil’s Egyptian shareholder, dipped 1.2 percent.
“The rumour on Mobinil is not credible and, now that Sawiris denied it, there’s no rumor any more, so we just don’t know what’s going on,” said a trader at CIBC.
Commercial International Bank rose 2.4 percent, the fourth-biggest gainer on the 30-company index.
Traders said the firm is gaining after Fitch Ratings removed a viability rating on the company from Rating Watch Negative (RWN) this week.
Pioneers Holdings added 0.8 percent after it said it made a net profit of 30.5 million Egyptian pounds ($5.1 million) in the second quarter of 2011, up from 10.1 million pounds a year earlier.
The index, which touched a two-year low of 4,418 points last week, closed at 4,747 points.
“Resistance is 4,800. We are hoping the market will stop there. If it goes below that again, the market will be sending a sell signal,” said Metwalli.
Elsewhere, Kuwait’s index ended 0.1 percent lower, eight points away from Sunday’s seven-year low. Volumes were the lowest in over two-years.
“The sentiment overall is negative due to many reasons, the waves and impact of the US credit rating downgrade, European debt crisis and we saw a slump in local corporate results,” said Safaa Zbib, head of research at Kuwait and Middle East Financial Investment Co.
“This suggests that economic activities are in a downturn... the index is in a bad shape.”
Large-cap Kuwait Finance House shed 1.1 percent, but Boubyan Bank helped limit losses and closed up 3.5 percent.
Investors across the Gulf are wary of entering the market with new positions on a weak global growth outlook
Morgan Stanley analysts became the latest to cut forecasts for global growth, citing “recent policy errors” in the US and Europe, plus prospects of further fiscal tightening in 2012.
Deutsche Bank cut its projection for Chinese GDP growth to 8.9 percent for 2011 from 9.1 percent and to 8.3 percent for 2012 from 8.6 percent, largely reflecting a downgrade in export outlook due to slower growth in the US and Europe.
In Qatar, the measure ended 0.2 percent lower, extending its 2011 losses to 5.7 percent. It halted two days of gains as investors booked profit ahead of the weekend.
Abu Dhabi’s index slipped to a nine-day low but volumes were thin, signaling muted buying interest and exaggerated stock moves.
Large-cap banks weighed with Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank slipping 0.3 percent, Union National Bank retreating 0.6 percent and National Bank of Ras Al-Khaimah declining 1 percent.
The broader index dropped 0.06 percent to its lowest close since Aug. 9, while neighboring Dubai’s benchmark edged up by 0.08 percent.
