Abu Dhabi led most Gulf stock markets higher on Tuesday in line with global shares, while the Saudi index extended losses from the previous session.
European shares followed a positive start in Asia, with the STOXX index of Europe's 600 biggest stocks (.STOXX) up 1.7% on optimism about an easing of China's crackdowns on tech and COVID-19.
Abu Dhabi's benchmark index (.FTFADGI) jumped about 3%, buoyed by a 3.9% rise in the country's largest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB.AD), and a 1.6% increase in telecoms firm e& (ETISALAT.AD).
Last week, e&, formerly known as Emirates Telecommunications Group, said it had bought a 9.8% stake in Vodafone (VOD.L) for $4.4 billion, days after saying it was looking to expand into new markets and related areas such as financial technology. read more
Dubai's main share index (.DFMGI) finished 1.5% higher, with the emirate's biggest listed property group Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU) gaining 6.9%.
On Friday, Emaar reported a record first-quarter profit of 2.24 billion dirham ($610 million), as property sales surged 17%. read more
Analysts had expected a net profit of 1.06 billion dirhams, according to Refinitiv.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI) extended losses to close 1.7% lower, with Al Rajhi Bank (1120.SE) dropping 4%, while Saudi Aramco (2222.SE) retreated 3.1%.
The kingdom's crude oil exports in March fell to 7.235 million barrels per day, official data showed on Monday. read more
Elsewhere, the Qatari index (.QSI) rose 1.4%, ending three sessions of losses, boosted by a 5.4% leap in Commercial Bank (COMB.QA).
Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index (.EGX30) fell 0.2%, hit by a 1.5% drop in top lender Commercial International Bank (COMI.CA).
Egypt has lowered its forecast for gross domestic product growth in the 2022/23 fiscal year, which begins in July, to 4.5% from 5.5%, a cabinet statement quoted the prime minister as saying on Monday.
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