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

A visitor passes a stock price indicator board in the lobby of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange Ltd. (TASE) in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Monday, Sept. 2, 2019. Embattled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, running in an election that could be the fight of his political life, said he hopes to annex all Jewish West Bank settlements. Photographer: Kobi Wolf/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

Farah Elbahrawy, Bloomberg News

Dec 27, 2021

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(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 0.8%
    • Beltone Financial Holding -4.1%; Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals -3.9%; Orascom Development -3.8% at 10:39 a.m. in Cairo
    • Cleopatra Hospital rises 3.6%
    • Read: Cleopatra Board Approves Acquisition of Alameda Healthcare
  • Dubai Financial Market General Index was little changed
    • DXB Entertainments extends losses to about 18% since Dec. 20, when Meraas Holding LLC offered to delist the troubled park operator
    • Damac Properties rises as much as 2.1%, before falling 0.7%
    • Read: Damac Sees UAE Property Market Recovery in Two Years, Zawya Says
  • Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index rises as much as 0.4%
    • Malath Cooperative Insurance +6.6%; SABB Takaful +5.1%; Saudi Re for Cooperative Reinsurance +4.6% at 11:37 a.m. in Riyadh

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