MIDEAST STOCKS-Qatar surges on plan to raise ownership caps, Jabal Omar sinks in Saudi

MIDEAST STOCKS-Qatar surges on plan to raise ownership caps, Jabal Omar sinks in Saudi:

"Qatar’s stock index surged in early trade on Sunday because of plans to raise ceilings for foreign ownership in several more companies, while Saudi Arabia moved sideways in the wake of FTSE Russell’s decision to upgrade it to emerging market status.

The Qatari index added 0.9 percent as Qatar Fuel jumped 7.7 percent, Gulf International Services Co rose 5.7 percent, Mesaieed Petrochemical soared 10.6 percent and Qatar Electricity and Water Co gained 1.1 percent. They were among the market’s most heavily traded stocks.

Parent Qatar Petroleum said the companies would take necessary steps in coming weeks to approve an increase in their foreign ownership limits to 49 percent. Actual foreign ownership levels aren’t close to the current ceilings, but higher ceilings will likely boost the stocks’ weightings in emerging market indexes."



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