STOCKS NEWS MIDEAST-Egypt's NSGB reverses early losses; index up

0840 GMT - Shares in Egypt's National Societe Generale Bank

reverse early-session losses and jump 10 percent.

Parent company Societe Generale on Wednesday

agreed to sell its 77 percent stake to Qatar National Bank

.

QNB has to offer to buy the remaining stock for the same

price under Egyptian stock market rules.

"The 100 percent mandatory tender offer of NSGB's shares

stands at $2.5 million, valuing NSGB at 35.56 pounds per share,

which is broadly in line with our fair value of NSGB," Raja

Ghoussoub, vice-president of research at NBK Capital, says in a

note.

Shares in NSGB trade at 39 pounds, having plummeted to 31.9

pounds per share in early trade.

Cairo's index climbs 1.3 percent to 5,230 points.

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0831 GMT - Saudi Arabia's bourse dips from a four-week high,

with petrochemical and banking shares weighing, as investors

book some of the recent gains.

The kingdom's index slips 0.2 percent to 6,812

points, up 4.3 percent so far in December.

The petrochemical sector index slips 0.2 percent,

accounting for the highest turnover. Bank shares are also lower

with Alinma Bank shedding 0.4 percent.

Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) trades flat.

Dallah Healthcare Holding Company, which raised

539 million riyals ($143.7 million) in an initial public

offering last month, will start trading on Dec. 17, the Capital

Market Authority said in a bourse statement.

The price move will be unrestricted for the first trading

session.

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0630 GMT - UAE markets edge higher with trading volumes

focused in Abu Dhabi's real estate sector.

Eshraq Properties gains 2.4 percent, accounting

for the bulk of trading activity.

Small-cap Eshraq, mainly a focus for retail investors, has

risen 34.4 percent so far this year.

Aldar Properties slips 0.8 percent.

Abu Dhabi's benchmark climbs 0.2 percent to 2,616

points, holding onto 8.9 percent year-to-date gains.

Dubai's Gulf Navigation, which accounts for more

than 80 percent of volumes, gains 3.7 percent, helping lift the

emirate's bourse. The shipping firm will hold a board meeting on

Dec. 20.

Dubai's index climbs 0.1 percent to 1,586 points,

halting a three-session decline.

Elsewhere, Kuwait's measure advances 0.2 percent to

5,941 points, heading for its sixth gain in the last seven

sessions, as the new parliament takes office on Sunday.

The new 15-member government, which was approved by ruling

emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, faces the task of

implementing investment plans and economic reforms after years

of political turmoil in the Gulf Arab state.

Trading is focused in small-caps, with United Real Estate

and Gulf Investment House advancing 4.7 and

1.1 percent respectively.

In Qatar, the index slips 0.1 percent to 8,320 points,

while Oman's bourse trades flat.

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0547 GMT - Fresh violence in Egypt will weigh on investor

sentiment after Islamists attacked the offices of an opposition

party newspaper on Saturday, as people voted on a new

constitution.

Egyptians voted narrowly in favour of a constitution shaped

by Islamists and which opponents said was a recipe for deepening

divisions in the nation, officials in rival camps said on Sunday

after the first round of a two-stage referendum.

The result based on unofficial tallies, if confirmed for this

round and repeated in Saturday's second stage, may give Islamist

President Mohamed Mursi limited cause for celebration as it

shows the wide rift in Egypt at a time when he needs to build

consensus on tough measures to heal a fragile economy.

"Egypt's market has shown resilience in recent sessions but

the current situation is not in the best interest of medium to

long-term investors," says Marwan Shurrab, vice-president and

chief trader at Gulfmena Investments. "There is a lot of tension

with no clarity on political or economic stability, which should

by default scare investors from building long-term positions."

Foreign buying has helped Cairo's index recover

more than half of its losses since Mursi sparked a political

crisis by issuing a decree that expanded his power on Nov. 22,

but is still down 5.1 percent.

In Saudi Arabia, shares in Saudi Telecom Co (STC)

rallied on Saturday, closing at their highest level since Oct.

20.

STC's unit PT Axis Telekom Indonesia is planning to sell

1,600 telecommunication towers worth around $300 million, three

sources with direct knowledge to matter said Friday.

The kingdom's benchmark rose 0.8 percent in the

previous session.

"Saudi market started the week yesterday by gaining... on

optimism about fourth-quarter earnings, which will give us a

lead (on) UAE markets direction today," Mohab Maher, head of

institutional trading at MENA Corp says in a note.

Gulf markets tend to track movements on the kingdom's

bourse, which is the largest exchange in the region.

($1 = 3.7505 Saudi riyals)

(Reporting by Nadia Saleem; Editing by Dinesh Nair)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blank-headline-received-083628084--sector.html

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