Mideast Stocks: Property shares buoy #Dubai; #Qatar extends losses | ZAWYA MENA Edition

Mideast Stocks: Property shares buoy Dubai; Qatar extends losses | ZAWYA MENA Edition

Major stock markets in the Gulf rose in early trade on Sunday, with indexes in the Dubai leading the gains on the back of their property shares, while Qatar bucked the trend to open lower.

In Dubai, the index opened 0.7% higher, on track to extend gains for a third consecutive session, led by a 0.8% increase in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties, and a 0.6% gain in sharia-compliant lender Dubai Islamic Bank.

Dubai government said on Saturday it plans to increase its tourism and hotel capacity by 134% over the next 20 years, part of a wider plan to make the emirate more competitive as Gulf countries brace for the post-oil era.

The Dubai-2040 plan forecasts 400% increase in beach capacity and 168 square km (65 square miles) of lands allocated to logistics and other businesses, a government statement said.

Saudi's benchmark index advanced 0.6%, buoyed mainly by gains in the financial stocks including Al Rajhi Bank, which gained 1% and National Commercial Bank climbed 1.4%.

Separately, Reuters reported last year in November that Saudi Arabia plans to ease foreign workers' contractual restrictions, abolishing a controversial seven-decade-old sponsorship system known as kafala.

The plans, to take effect in March 2021, aim to make the Saudi labour market more attractive, the deputy minister for human resources said, by granting foreign workers the right to change jobs and leave the country without employers' permission.

The Abu Dhabi index added 0.4%, driven by a 0.8% increase in market heavyweight First Abu Dhabi Bank.

The Qatari index, however, eased 0.2%, on track to extend losses for a third consecutive session, hit by a 1% fall in Qatar National Bank, the Gulf's largest lender.