Construction and materials drag Gulf indices

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Indices across the Gulf have seen a mixed performance over June having broadly suffered losses, dragged down by construction and building materials.

The Qatar bourse has seen a surge for the last week and month, rising from 7,008 at the start of last week to close 7,082 on Thursday, up 3.5% since the beginning of June, spurred by gains by Barwa Real Estate and Industries Qatar.

In Dubai, the index fell nine points for the week to close at 1,538, just short of the 1,531 registered at the beginning of June. Arabtec closed down 2% for both the last day of trading and the week, and down 6% for the month, closing at AED1.87.

Emaar Properties PJSC closed down 2% for the last day of trading and 6% for the week at AED3.26. The real estate giant has gained 3% this month.

Deyaar closed down 1.1% for the final day of trading to close at AED0.34, up from AED0.3 at the start of the week but still around half its share price since the beginning of the year. Drake & Scull International gained 3.59% for the week with additional gains for Arkan Building Materials and Ras Al Khaimah Cement Company.

In Abu Dhabi, the index recovered from a dip in performance to close at 2,553, up from 2,510 on 15th June but just a touch off the 2,552 registered at the start of the month.

Cement companies in Saudi Arabia saw rare widespread losses on the stock markets last week, with Gulf Cement Company slipping 9.6% and Southern Province, Yanbu, Saudi Cement Company and Yamamah all losing between 0.5% and 0.93%. However, the Tadawul overall gained two points for the week and saw its first day of trading yesterday rise to 6,352, up 6% for the month.

In Oman the Muscat Securities Index rose 46 from Thursday to Thursday, down 1% for the month, with Raysut Cement and Oman Cement Company remaining steady.

The Kuwait index saw a small rise of 42 points though it has slumped this month from 6,702 on 1st June to 6,625 at the end of last week, despite Musrif Trading and Kuwait Company for Processing Plant seeing two of the biggest gains for the region, up 9.26% and 6.67% for the week.