MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf markets mixed on data, dividends; property stocks boost Egypt | News by Country | Reuters:
"Gulf stock markets were mixed on Tuesday, guided by economic data and dividends, while Egypt edged up on the back of property stocks after reports about plans to build a new $80 billion capital city from scratch.
Saudi Arabia's main stock index rose 1.1 percent after strong purchasing managers index (PMI) data. Growth in the kingdom's non-oil private sector accelerated to a four-month high in February as lavish handouts to citizens by the new king buoyed the economy despite the plunge in oil prices, the SABB HSBC survey showed.
"The latest whole economy PMIs from the MENA region provide further evidence that the fall in oil prices hasn't caused activity in the Gulf economies to collapse, as some had feared," Jason Tuvey, Middle East economist at London-based Capital Economics, said in a note."
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