JEDDAH – The Saudi Tadawul All Share Index gained 0.04 percent on Monday to close 9,429.21 points. Dubai's bourse ended a six-day rally on Monday as retail investors took profits, while banks dragged down Bahrain after a merger in the sector fell apart. The rest of the region was mixed. The main Dubai market index opened higher but then moved into the red as heavyweight Emaar Properties slid 0.8 percent in low-volume trading. Other property-related names and small-cap stocks favored by retail investors followed suit, and the index closed down 0.7 percent. Some of Dubai's real estate names were still in the black, however; Union Properties rose 1.0 percent and Deyaar gained 0.8 percent. Abu Dhabi's bourse closed up 0.2 percent thanks to blue chips such as National Bank of Abu Dhabi, which added 1.8 percent. Bank of Sharjah dropped 6.6 percent after going ex-dividend. Bahrain's bourse was the Gulf's biggest loser on Monday, shedding 1.4 percent. Khaleeji Commercial Bank fell 2.0 percent after the lender and unlisted Bank Al Khair failed to agree on the terms of a merger and dropped the plan. The central bank has been encouraging mergers to help the sector recover from a real estate crash and political unrest that erupted in 2011. Arab Banking Corp plunged its daily limit of 10 percent as it went ex-dividend. It jumped its daily limit for five straight sessions earlier this month in anticipation of its 5 US cents a share dividend. “This is the first time since 2007 that the bank distributes a cash dividend. The movement in the stock over the last few weeks reflects market expectations regarding this dividend,” brokerage Mubasher said. Meanwhile Qatar's bourse slid 0.7 percent, down for a fourth straight session. Local individual investors and institutions as well as foreign retail investors were all net sellers on Monday; foreign institutions were buying. Kuwait's Agility, the largest logistics group in the Gulf Arab region, surged 7.4 percent after the company reported a 37 percent rise in 2013 net profit and proposed a higher cash dividend of 40 fils per share plus 5 percent bonus shares. It was the third most heavily traded stock in Kuwait. — SG/Reuters
