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Gulf Arab stocks gain slightly on first trading day of 2017

Xinhua, January 2, 2017 Adjust font size:

Despite lackluster trading, market indexes in the Gulf Arab states rose slightly on Monday, the first trading day of 2017.

The Saudi Stock Exchange, the biggest Gulf Arab market in terms of market value, closed at 7,247.34, up 0.13 percent. In 2016, the gauge gained 8.77 percent.

Market bellwether Sabic, the world's biggest producer of petrochemicals, closed 0.28 percent higher at 91.76 riyals (24.46 U.S. dollars).

At the Dubai Financial Market (DFM), the index climbed 0.22 percent to 3,538.68 on Monday. In 2016, it gained a total of 16.97.

Earlier last month, Gary Dugan, the chief investment officer of wealth management of Dubai's biggest bank Emirates NBD, estimated that Dubai-listed shares would "have a 15 percent upward potential in the first quarter of 2017," due to rising oil prices after OPEC and non-OPEC countries agreed to cut output.

DFM's sister market ADX in Abu Dhabi, the second bourse in the UAE, however, fell by 0.27 percent to 4,533.87 while the Doha-based Qatar Exchange 30 Index increased 0.34 percent to close at 10,427.91.

In Kuwait, the KSE Market index surged 0.47 percent, finishing a muted Monday session at 5,775.35. Endit