May 13 (Reuters) - Most stock markets in the Gulf put in a mixed performance on Monday amid rising oil prices, while investors awaited U.S. inflation data to gauge the Federal Reserve's policy path for the rest of the year.
Oil prices, a catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets, were up 0.6% with Brent settling at $83.3 a barrel by 1300 GMT.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark stock index bounced back after two straight sessions of losses and rose 0.4%, supported by a 5.7% increase in ACWA Power and a 0.6% gain in Saudi National Bank, the kingdom's largest lender.
Among other gainers, Riyadh Cables Group climbed 5% after the cable maker posted a 35.3% rise in its quarterly net profit.
The Qatari benchmark index was up for a fourth consecutive session and ended 0.3% higher, lifted by gains in industry, finance and materials sectors.
Qatar Islamic Bank advanced 1.4% and Industries Qatar gained 0.8%, while Qatar National Bank, the region's largest lender, added 0.3%.
In Abu Dhabi, the benchmark index was little changed with conglomerate Alpha Dhabi dropping 1.3% and ADNOC Drilling adding 4.3%.
ADNOC Drilling, the energy giant ADNOC's drilling unit, reported a 26% rise in its first quarter net profit and announced a new dividend policy to increase payout by at least 10% annually for five years.
Dubai's benchmark index ended flat with Emirates Central Cooling Systems and Ajman Bank sliding 4.4% and 4.1%, respectively. However, the blue-chip developer Emaar Properties rose 1.5% and Aramex climbed 3.6%.
The logistics firm Aramex on Friday reported a 95% increase in quarterly net profit.
The crucial U.S. core consumer price index is due on Wednesday, with hotter-than-expected data ruling out any rate-cut hopes from the Fed.
Most Gulf currencies are pegged to the dollar, and any U.S. monetary policy change is usually mimicked by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index was up 0.9%, aided by gains in materials, industry, real estate and finance sectors, with Talaat Mostafa Group rising 3.2% and Commercial International Bank advancing 2%.
COMI, Egypt's biggest private lender, posted a 97% surge in its first-quarter net income.
|
SAUDI ARABIA |
rose 0.4% to 12,260 |
|
KUWAIT |
was up 0.5% to 7,883 |
|
QATAR |
gained 0.3% to 9,669 |
|
EGYPT |
added 0.9% to 25,381 |
|
BAHRAIN |
ended flat at 2,023 |
|
OMAN |
was down 0.2% to 4,770 |
|
ABU DHABI |
ended flat at 9,093 |
|
DUBAI |
ended flat at 4,173 |
Reporting by Md Manzer Hussain; Editing by Shweta Agarwal
Source: Reuters