[2008-03-05]  Saudi's bourse leads Gulf gainers
Shares in Saudi Arabia, the largest Gulf market, closed above 10,000 and led six out of seven Gulf markets higher Tuesday. The Saudi market ended higher by 2% at 10030.04, led by heavyweights Saudi Basic Industries Corp (Sabic), and Al Rajhi Bank.

Buying was seen across the board as local investors looked for value deals after recent losses, said an analyst. The market had fallen by about 4.4% in the previous three sessions and is the Gulf regions worst performer this year so far.

Dubai shares closed up 1.4% at 5857.34, led by Shuaa Capital, up 5.2% at 7.65 dirhams. Foreign funds are increasing their exposure to regional finance houses as they are likely to benefit the most from booming regional economies, says P Krishna Murthy, CEO at Al Rostamani Groups financial services division. Gulf economies are showing robust growth and this is positively impacting the markets, including the IPO market, translating into more business for finance houses, he said.

The Abu Dhabi market ended up 1.1% at 4822.30, led by real estate shares. Kuwait shares closed up 0.5% at 14079.50, an all-time high, led by heavyweight Zain and investment firms.

Bahrain shares were down 0.3% to 2865.10 at close, undermined by investment firms. The Muscat stock market closed up 0.9% at 10507.39, led by industrials.

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