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ADX Increases; Dubai Financial Market Drops 0.9pc

DUBAI — Abu Dhabi’s ADX General Index increased 0.3 per cent. Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index and the Kuwait Stock Exchange Index gained 0.1 percent, the Bahrain All Share Index rose 0.3 percent. The Dubai Financial Market Index dropped 0.9 percent.

Oman shares rose to a month-high, among the Gulf’s best performers, as Oman Telecommunications Co.’s profit beat expectations and global stocks advanced after Germany signaled it may help support Greece’s finances. Omantel, the sultanate’s biggest telephone company, jumped the most in more than a month.

Bank Muscat SAOG, the country’s largest bank, increased the most in a week. Oman’s Muscat Securities Market 30 Index advanced 0.8 per cent to 6,561.66, the highest since Jan. 13. The measure has climbed 3 per cent this year, while the MSCI Emerging Market Index has lost 7.7 per cent. Qatar’s Doha Securities Market Index advanced 0.9 per cent.

“U.S. markets yesterday and Asia today were higher, reflecting a better global backdrop, which is pushing local markets up,” said Ali Khan, head of cash-equity trading at Dubai-based Arqaam Capital Ltd.

U.S. stocks rallied, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average back above 10,000, and Asian and European markets rose. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble will brief lawmakers today on steps he may take to support the Greek government as it braces for a wave of strikes protesting deficit-reduction plans.

Olli Rehn, the European Union’s new economic affairs commissioner, said yesterday support for Greece will be discussed in the coming days. Michael Meister, a German legislator from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats, said lawmakers in that country are considering financial assistance.

Omantel added 1.3 percent, the most since Jan. 7, to 1.291 rials. Profit for 2009 advanced 5 percent from the previous year to 125 million rials ($325 million). Net income was expected at 115 million rials, according to the median of three estimates surveyed by Bloomberg. Bank Muscat rose 1.3 percent, the most since Feb. 1, to 0.957 rial.—