Big-hitting Nienaber falters at the finish to settle for secondwhile former Abu Dhabi resident David Horsey takes the third spot at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club
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Gulf stocks rally on Sunday led by Dubai reduced January losses on strong oil prices and analysts predicted positive February.
All seven exchanges in the GCC nations witnessed gains in their respective indices ranging from 1.32 per cent to five per cent but still finished the first month of the year sharply lower.
The Dubai Financial Market General Index jumped 4.92 per cent to close the month just under the 3,000-point mark, but remained 4.86 per cent below last year's close.
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange benchmark index increased by 3.68 per cent in the last session of the month to rise above the 4,000-point level but ended January down 5.9 per cent.
The Saudi Arabia's Tadawul Index was up by 1.98 per cent to 5,996.57 points, reducing its monthly losses to 11.1 per cent. The Qatar Exchange added 2.26 per cent to finish the day on 9,481.30 points. The exchange closed the month 9.1 per cent lower. The Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) Index increased 2.08 per cent on Sunday but remained 8.9 per cent below the 2015 finish.
The Muscat Securities Exchange inched up 3.25 per cent to cut the month's losses to 4.2 per cent while the Bahrain Bourse added 1.32 per cent only and closed the month 2.4 per cent down.
"We were sitting on the sidelines for most of January," Muhammad Shabbir, the Dubai-based head of equities and funds at Rasmala Investment Bank told Bloomberg. "We're looking to enter the market again this week after the losses we've seen this month. February could well shape up as a positive month," Shabbir said.
Equities across emerging markets rallied last week as risk appetite strengthened on bets the Federal Reserve will refrain from raising interest rates soon and as oil jumped on speculation an output cut may be on the way.
Brent crude for March settlement, which expired last week, rose 2.5 per cent to $34.74 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange on Friday. The more-active April contract increased to $35.99.
The Bloomberg GCC 200 Index, a gauge of 200 of the region's biggest companies, added 2.9 per cent, gaining for a third day. The measure has lost 8.6 per cent this month, poised for the worst start to a year since 2009.
Emirates NBD led the emirate's benchmark index as just 211,000 shares were exchanged. The bank's weight on the gauge was increased this month as part of a regular index review.
Emaar Properties, which has the largest weighting, added 4.5 per cent to the highest level in three weeks. The developer, which is about 30 per cent owned by the Dubai government, signed an agreement with Sharjah Investment and Development Authority, known as Shurooq, to form a real estate company.
- abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com
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