The Qatari bourse led the gains on Monday’s early trade in the majority of the Gulf stock markets, while the Saudi index lagged behind due to declining crude prices.
Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU) experienced a 14.9% increase after announcing a cash dividend of 52 fils per share for the year 2022, helping to support Dubai’s main stock index (.DFMGI), which increased by 1%.
The real estate developer is on track to post its largest intraday gain ever, and the surge increased the market value of the business by 2.9 billion dirham ($789.67 million).
The International Holding Co (IHC) (IHC.AD) saw a 0.6% rise, driving the 0.6% gain in Abu Dhabi’s index (.FTFADGI), as the conglomerate plans to invest in Presight AI Holding’s initial public offering. (IPO).
G42, an artificial intelligence company based in Abu Dhabi, intends to list its shares on the local stock market and float its big data analytics division Presight.ai through an IPO valued at 1.82 billion dirhams ($495.6 million).
Alpha Dhabi Holding (ALPHADHABI.AD), a division of IHC, increased 2.7%.
The Qatari index (.QSI), which opened for trading following a session break, increased 1.2%. The majority of the companies were trading in the green, led by petrochemical producer Industries Qatar (IQCD.QA), which gained 2.3%.
However, the benchmark indicator for Saudi Arabia (.TASI) traded unchanged.
After China set a lower-than-expected goal for economic growth this year at around 5%, and as investors warily anticipated U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s testimony this week, oil prices—a key catalyst for the Gulf’s financial markets—fell.