Qatar's main stock index dropped in early trade Thursday after FTSE published a list of stocks to be included in its secondary emerging market index, while Saudi Arabian petrochemical stocks sagged because of weak oil prices. The Qatari index initially rose but was down 0.8 percent after 90 minutes. Only two of the 22 stocks due to join the FTSE index on Sept. 20 rose. Although Qatar's upgrade to emerging market status is widely seen as positive for the market, investors had bought up stocks in anticipation of the list's publication in recent weeks, leaving many shares at or above analysts' estimates of fair value. A monthly Reuters poll of Middle East fund managers, published on Wednesday, found them turning negative on Qatar for the next three months because of valuations. Among FTSE constituents, United Development rose 1.7 percent on Thursday morning; it had been underperforming other stocks on list. Qatar Insurance added 0.1 percent. But Ezdan Holding Group dropped 0.6 percent and Ooredoo declined 1.0 percent. The Reuters poll found fund managers bullish on the United Arab Emirates by a large margin. Dubai's main index climbed 0.3 percent with Union Properties adding 1.2 percent. Shuaa Capital, which is providing market-making services for the launch of single-stock futures on major UAE companies on Thursday, rose 1.2 percent. In Abu Dhabi, the index was flat with Aldar Properties up 0.7 percent. Petrochemical shares in Saudi Arabia declined after Brent oil futures fell back to just above $47.00 a barrel. The main Saudi index dropped 0.7 percent in the first 45 minutes of trade with Yanbu National Petrochemicals (Yansab) losing 2.6 percent. Consumer discrectionaries, which have been sluggish over the last week, continued to drop with retailer Fawaz Alhokair declining 0.8 percent. Source: Reuters
