Mideast Stocks: #Qatar leads most Gulf bourses higher; #Saudi flat

Mideast Stocks: Qatar leads most Gulf bourses higher; Saudi flat

Most Gulf stock markets rose in early trade on Monday, with the Qatari bourse leading the gains, while the Saudi index was muted amid falling oil prices.

Dubai's main share index gained 1%, boosted by a 14.9% surge in Emaar Properties after announcing cash dividend of 52 fils per share for the year 2022.

The real estate developer is on course for its biggest intraday gain ever and the surge added 2.9 billion dirham ($789.67 million) to company's market value.

In Abu Dhabi, the index added 0.6%, led by a 0.6% increase in International Holding Co (IHC), as the conglomerate intends to invest in Presight AI Holding's initial public offering (IPO).

Abu Dhabi artificial intelligence firm G42 plans to float its big data analytics unit Presight.ai via an 1.82 billion dirham ($495.6 million) IPO and list its shares on the local stock exchange.

Elsewhere, IHC's unit Alpha Dhabi Holding advanced 2.7%.

The Qatari index, which traded after a session's break, climbed 1.2%, with most of the stocks trading in the positive territory including petrochemical maker Industries Qatar, which was up 2.3%.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index, however, traded flat.

Oil prices - a key catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets - slipped after China set a lower-than-expected target for economic growth this year at around 5%, and as investors cautiously awaited U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's testimony this week.