Zain climbed to at its highest value since Aug. 4 after market talk it was making progress in selling its 25 percent stake in its Saudi affiliate.
“Market rumors have started again that they (Zain) have made progress in selling their stake in Zain Saudi,” said Shahid Hameed, Global Investment House regional asset management head.
“This is boosting their shares ... The market is expecting them to make a good profit from this sale.”
Zain ended up 4.2 percent, trimming its year-to-date losses to 35 percent. Kuwait’s index rose 0.9 percent.
Zain has agreed to sell its stake in Zain Saudi to joint bidders Kingdom Holding Co. and Bahrain Telecommunications (Batelco).
However, Batelco’s chief executive said on Thursday the $950 million deal was still weeks away.
Brent and US crude oil futures, down during trading hours on regional markets, rose in choppy trade ahead of data expected to show US crude stockpiles fell last week.
“For now, I expect regional fundamentals to take a back seat as the global concerns are crucial for the markets,” said Rami Sidani, Schroders Middle East head of investment.
“There is an optimism prevailing globally in the financial market driven by a potentially accommodating financial policy.”
Sidani said: “High oil prices have been providing a lot of comfort to regional economies, allowing them to push ahead with infrastructure spending.”
Doha Bank climbed 2.6 percent to its highest level in more than seven months, buoyed by Qatar’s salary hike for state staff, but the country’s share index slipped as investors remained cautious on the global economy.
The state announced salary and pension hikes of up to 120 percent for state and military staff.
Lender Masraf Al Rayan and Qatar Islamic Bank fell 0.4 percent each.
Qatar’s benchmark dropped 0.4 percent.
Egypt’s main index rose, buoyed by gains in Orascom Telecom (OT) after Russia’s Vimpelcom, which bought a controlling stake in the firm in March, released results that reassured investors in Egypt.
OT, the most heavily traded stock, jumped 3.6 percent.
“(Vimpelcom’s) results show the impact of the merger, which means that the merger actually happened or financially happened ... so people are moving toward the deal price, whatever it is in their perception,” said Osama Mourad of Arab Finance Brokerage.
Vimpelcom said on Wednesday that its own second-quarter net profit fell 29 percent due to higher interest and depreciation costs following its disputed acquisition of Wind Telecom, the parent company of OT.
Egypt’s index added 0.6 percent.
