JEDDAH — Gulf stock markets were mixed on Monday after Brent oil slipped towards $63 per barrel on news of a slide in China's fuel imports. Saudi Arabia's stock benchmark Tadawul All Share Index edged down 0.6 percent to 9,532 points as petrochemicals heavyweight Saudi Basic Industries fell 1.0 percent and major lender Al Rajhi Bank lost 1.2 percent.
Makkah Construction And Development Co fell 1.8 percent after posting a 10.2 percent decrease in quarterly profit in year-on-year terms. The company follows the Islamic calendar and its reporting periods are different from those of most listed firms.
But oil shipper Bahri edged up 0.5 percent as freight rates from the Gulf to Japan appeared to have bottomed out following a sharp decline from their 2015 peak in the second half of May. Dubai's index slipped in early trade as investors were dumping most stocks and buying shares in mortgage lender Amlak Finance, which surged 15 percent to their daily limit for a fourth session in a row.
Abu Dhabi index edged up 0.2 percent to 4,564 points. Qatar index fell 0.7 percent to 11,903 points.
Kuwait index fell 0.9 percent to 6,273 points. Oman index edged up 0.2 percent to 6,464 points. Bahrain index slipped 0.1 percent to 1,365 points. Egypt index lost 0.7 percent to 8,672 points.
As Amlak hit the limit, buyers switched to other names, lifting the wider market, which closed 0.7 percent higher to 4,016 points.
Amlak resumed trading last week after being suspended for nearly six years because of debt problems. Dubai's index has roughly doubled in that time. Dubai Parks and Resourts was the second most traded stock after Amlak, rising 2.7 percent to a record closing high of 1.16 dirhams. The company, which is building several theme parks in the city, does not expect to generate a profit until 2018, but has become a favorite of technicals-focused investors in the last few weeks. Egypt's bourse fell 0.7 percent as most stocks declined, extending the sell-off which followed the news that the country had swung to a current account deficit in the first quarter. — SG/Agencies
