MIDEAST STOCKS-Most Gulf markets rise, tracking oil, Asian shares - Agricultural Commodities - Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Most Gulf markets rise, tracking oil, Asian shares - Agricultural Commodities - Reuters:

Most stock markets in the Middle East
closed higher on Tuesday, buoyed by gains in Brent oil prices
and Asian, as optimism about the easing of coronavirus-related
restrictions reassured markets.

Brent crude rose 41 cents, or 2%, to $20.40 a barrel
at 1006 GMT, following a 6.8% slide on Monday.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index gained 0.8%, with Al
Rajhi Bank rising and Saudi British Bank
gaining 5.3%.

But Petrorabigh dropped 2.5% after it posted a net
loss of 1.80 billion riyals ($478.85 million) in the first
quarter, doqn from profit of 257 million riyals a year earlier.

Saudi Arabia's King Salman issued an order allowing the
opening of some economic and commercial activities, which
includes wholesale and retail shops in addition to malls, from
April 29 to May 13, state news agency (SPA) reported on Sunday.

The order also limited the curfew across the kingdom to 9
a.m. to 5 p.m. until May 13, while keeping a 24-hour curfew in
Mecca and in previously isolated neighbourhoods.

The Abu Dhabi index reversed earlier losses to close up 1.2%. First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), which retreated
3.6% during the session, ended 1.6% higher.
The largest lender in the United Arab Emirates reported a 22% drop in quarterly profit on Monday, hit by interest rate
cuts and impairment charges.
Its net profit in the first quarter was 2.4 billion dirhams ($653.42 million) versus 3.1 billion dirhams a year earlier.
Dubai's main share index rose 0.6%, with blue-chip developer Emaar Properties rising 2.3% and its unit

Emaar Malls up 3.3%.
The Qatari index gained 0.8%, helped by a 4.2% leap in Qatar Gas Transport Company and a 0.2% gain in
Mesaieed Petrochemical despite a steep fall in first-quarter net profit.