Israeli Shares Rise Most in Mideast While Egypt Slips: Inside EM - Bloomberg

Israeli Shares Rise Most in Mideast While Egypt Slips: Inside EM - Bloomberg

Israeli equities climbed the most in the Middle East as dual-listed firms caught up with U.S. gains from Thursday.

The country’s TA-35 benchmark rose as much as 1.7%. Stocks that are also listed in the U.S., including Azrieli Group Ltd, Bank Leumi Le-Israel BM and ICL Group Ltd, were among the biggest gainers on Sunday.

Elsewhere, gauges in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar rose, with Brent crude staying above $50 a barrel in the past two weeks.

Egypt’s benchmark was the biggest loser after the central bank put monetary easing on pause amid fears over the effect of a new strain of the coronavirus on global markets. Dubai shares slipped after the government said it expects to spend 57.1 billion dirhams ($15.5 billion) next year to cushion the blow from the pandemic.

Indexes in the region were mostly trading below their average volume in the past 30 days amid the year-end holidays.

“Although the liquidity is thin, we believe with the concerns around the new strain of coronavirus settling down a bit, we can see investors continue to position in the reopening and cyclical recovery plays in travel, tourism, banks, petrochemical and real-estate sectors,” said Divye Arora, money manager at Daman Investments in Dubai. “Oil price not breaking below 50 level is also supportive for the regional markets.”

MIDDLE EASTERN MARKETS:

• Egypt’s EGX 30 falls 1%
• Commercial International Bank 0.9%; Eastern Co. -0.8%; Talaat Moustafa Group -0.9%
• Cleopatra Hospital rises 5.3%

• Dubai Financial Market General Index fell 0.5%
• DXB Entertainments extends losses to about 18% since Dec. 20, when Meraas Holding LLC offered to delist the troubled park operator
• Damac Properties closes 3.5% lower

• Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index rises 0.4%
• Sabic +0.8%; Saudi Kayan +3.6%; Al Rajhi Bank +0.3%
• Aramco erases earlier loses, closing 0.1% higher after the Saudi Energy Minister announced it discovered 4 oil and gas fields in the kingdom

#Dubai Budget Policy Turns ‘Expansionary’ With $15.5 Billion Plan - Bloomberg

Dubai Budget Policy Turns ‘Expansionary’ With $15.5 Billion Plan - Bloomberg

Dubai’s government expects to spend 57.1 billion dirhams ($15.5 billion) next year as it tries to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus, according to the budget approved on Sunday.

The program takes into account “the exceptional economic conditions of the fiscal year 2020 and the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic on the global economy,” according to a statement on the website of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashed Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai.

Government revenue is expected to reach 52.3 billion dirhams, it said. The budget “sends a clear message to the business community that Dubai is pursuing an expansionary fiscal policy,” according to the ruler’s website.

The emirate revised this year’s budget revenue to 44.2 billion dirhams, according to the prospectus for its bond sale, down more than 30% from what it originally envisaged. It also decreased its projected expenditure to 56.2 billion dirhams for 2020, leaving a deficit of 11.9 billion dirhams.

#SaudiArabia announces four oil and gas discoveries -state news agency | ZAWYA MENA Edition

Saudi Arabia announces four oil and gas discoveries -state news agency | ZAWYA MENA Edition

Saudi Arabia's Energy Ministry on Sunday announced the discovery of four new oil and gas fields, state news agency SPA reported.

State oil producer Aramco discovered oil in the Al-Ajramiyah well, northwest of the city of Rafhaa, with tests showing a rate of 3,850 barrels per day (bpd).

Non-conventional oil was found in the al-Reesh oilfield, northwest of the city of Dhahran.

Al-Reesh well no. 2's daily flow stands at 4,452 bpd of Arab Extra Light crude oil and 3.2 million standard cubic feet of natural gas; well no. 4 is producing 3,654 bpd and 1.6 million standard cubic feet of gas.

Al-Reesh well no. 3's initial production stands at 2,745 bpd with 3 million standard cubic feet of gas per day.

Non-conventional gas was also discovered in the Al-Sarrah reservoir at the Al-Minahhaz well, southwest of the Ghawar oilfield, the world's largest conventional oilfield.

European, Middle Eastern & African Stocks - Bloomberg #UAE #Kuwait #Israel #SaudiArabia #Qatar close

European, Middle Eastern & African Stocks - Bloomberg #UAE #Kuwait #Israel #SaudiArabia #Qatar close

Damac sees #UAE property market recovery in two years, reports - Arabianbusiness

Damac sees UAE property market recovery in two years, reports - Arabianbusiness

The recovery of the UAE property market to pre-crisis levels could take up to two years, an executive at Dubai-listed developer Damac Properties PJSC said.

The recovery of the real estate market “will be a long one, perhaps 12 to 24 months”, Amira Sajwani, senior vice president at Damac, was cited as saying by the Zawya news site. “Property prices have dropped, and we are expecting further declines over the final quarter of 2020 and into 2021.”

The impact of Covid-19 and a likely reduction in the UAE population will hamper the revival, she said.

Damac’s chairman, Hussain Sajwani, has been advocating for a moratorium on construction in Dubai, where a property glut has driven home prices down by more than 30 percent since 2014.

#UAE optimistic about oil demand recovery in 2021 | ZAWYA MENA Edition

UAE optimistic about oil demand recovery in 2021 | ZAWYA MENA Edition

The UAE is optimistic about a recovery in oil demand in 2021.

Rollout of coronavirus vaccines and improvement in relations between the US and China are likely to increase the demand for oil, Energy minister Suhail Al-Mazrouei told Sky News Arabia. “Recovery will be gradual, and won’t happen in a quarter or two,” he said.

The OPEC+ alliance of oil producers has successfully mitigated the impact of reduced demand, said Al-Mazrouei, and the UAE hopes more producers would join in the future.

The OPEC+ agreement earlier this month to increase oil supply will mean that downturns in hydrocarbon sectors across the GCC states will start to ease.

London-based economic research and consultancy firm, Capital Economics, expects that brent crude will reach $60per barrel by the end of next year and the Gulf economies will start to benefit from higher prices.

#Dubai approves lower spending budget for 2021 | ZAWYA MENA Edition

Dubai approves lower spending budget for 2021 | ZAWYA MENA Edition

Dubai has unveiled a spending plan worth 57.1 billion UAE dirhams ($15.5 billion) for fiscal year 2021, a decline of 9.3 billion dirhams from the 2020 outlay.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the UAE, approved the allocation, which takes into account the “exceptional economic conditions” of the current year and the “repercussions” of the coronavirus pandemic on the global economy.

More than a third of the new outlay (35 percent) will go to the salary and wage allowances of government staff, “to ensure family and community stability”. Grant and support expenditures account for 26 percent, while 9 percent will be used to “maintain the volume of investments in infrastructure”.

Last year, Dubai approved a 2020 government spending plan of 66.4 billion dirhams, said to be the biggest ever.

Major Gulf stocks mixed at start of last week of trade | Reuters

Major Gulf stocks mixed at start of last week of trade | Reuters

Major Gulf stock markets were mixed early on Sunday in the last week of trading for the year.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index has gained 4% this year, Abu Dhabi and Qatar are up 1%, while Dubai is down 8.8%. Gains in recent weeks have been fuelled by optimism over COVID-19 vaccines.

On Sunday, the Saudi index opened up 0.2% with Samba Financial Group and National Commercial Bank (NCB) up 1.5% and 0.7%, respectively.

The lenders said they are in the process of obtaining regulatory approvals to complete a merger. In October, they signed a binding agreement to create a combined entity with 837 billion riyals ($223 billion) in assets.

Yanbu National Petrochemicals gained 0.7% after its board proposed a 1.25 riyals per share dividend for the second half of the year.

Dubai’s index was down 0.2%, after closing higher in the last three sessions. Lenders Emirates NBD and Dubai Islamic Bank were down 0.9% and 0.6%, respectively, while real estate developer Emaar Properties was up 0.6%.

In Abu Dhabi, the index was down 0.2% as Emirates Telecommunications Group fell 1%. International Holdings rose 0.7%. The company recently listed three subsidiaries on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange’s (ADX) secondary market.

The Qatari index was flat as Qatar Fuel declined 1.3% and Commercial Bank gained 1.1%.