* Air Arabia rallies on Airbus deal
* IHC sees biggest gain in a month
* Arabian Centres rises on Islamic facilities
By Ateeq Shariff
Nov 20 (Reuters) - Bank stocks helped support markets in the
United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, while Egypt's blue-chip index
extended losses for a third straight session.
Dubai's index edged up 0.1% supported by Emirates
NBD and Emaar Malls, which were up 0.4% and
1.6% respectively.
Air Arabia closed up 1.4%, stretching its winning
streak to a third day. On Monday, the budget airline announced
an order for 120 Airbus A320neo-family jets in a deal worth
about $14 billion.
However, the market's gains were capped by losses at real
estate sector with Arabtec Holding falling 4.7%, the
biggest loser on the index. On Friday, the contractor swung to a
third-quarter loss, compared with a profit a year earlier.
In Abu Dhabi, the index was also up 0.1% with First
Abu Dhabi Bank adding 0.3% and International Holding
Company(IHC) soaring 8.9%, its biggest intraday gain
since mid-October.
On Tuesday, IHC called off an acquisition of SHUAA Capital
International.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index lost
0.6%.
The country's largest lender, Commercial International Bank,
dropped 1.6% and Madinet Nasr was down 2.2%.
However, the index received some support from Eastern
Company which rose 0.9%.
Saudi's benchmark index rose marginally to close up
0.1% as Saudi Basic Industries gained 0.7% and Savola
Group climbed 3%.
Arabian Centres advanced 2%. The Saudi mall
operator obtained $1.4 billion in sharia-compliant financing
facilities with a syndicate of banks.
The Qatari index traded flat with financial shares
and petrochemical stocks moving sideways.
Qatar International Islamic Bank slid 3.2%, while
Mesaieed Petrochemical gained 1.2%.
SAUDI ARABIA The index inched up 0.1% to 8,054 points
ABU DHABI The index added 0.1% to 5,093 points
DUBAI The index edged up 0.1% to 2,704 points
QATAR The index was flat at 10,337 points
EGYPT The index down 0.6% to 14,224 points
BAHRAIN The index increased 0.2% to 1,509 points
OMAN The index traded flat at 4,086 points
KUWAIT The index was up 0.2% at 6,546 points
(Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru; Editing by Pravin
Char)
