A trader looks on near electronic boards showing stock market data at Bahrain Bourse after Joe Biden won the U.S. presidency, in Manama, Bahrain, November 8, 2020. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
Nov 28 (Reuters) – Major stock markets in the Gulf rose in early trade on Thursday following Israel’s agreement to a ceasefire deal with Lebanon’s Hezbollah group under a deal brokered by the U.S. and France.
The agreement, a rare diplomatic feat in a region racked by conflict, ended the deadliest confrontation between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group in years. However, Israel is still fighting the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index
gained 0.3%, with Al Rajhi Bank
rising 0.6% and the country’s biggest lender Saudi National Bank
increasing 0.7%.
Dubai’s main share index
added 0.3%, with Dubai Electricity and Water Authority
advancing 2.4%.
Separately, Talabat, one of the largest food ordering businesses in the Middle East, is set to be the largest initial public offering (IPO) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) this year after parent firm Delivery Hero DHER.DE on Wednesday announced it had increased the offering.
The IPO on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) could raise as much as $2 billion if priced at the top of its indicative price range of 1.5-1.6 dirhams per share.
Meanwhile, oil prices were steady as worries over Middle East supply disruptions eased after a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah, with investors focusing on next week’s OPEC+ meeting to discuss oil output policy.
OPEC+, which pumps about half the world’s oil, will meet on Dec. 5. Two sources from the producer group told Reuters on Tuesday that members have been discussing a further delay to a planned oil output hike due to have started in January.
The Qatari benchmark
edged 0.1% higher, helped by a 1.5% rise in telecoms firm Ooredoo
.
(This story has been refiled to update the OPEC+ meeting schedule to Dec. 5, not Dec. 1, in paragraphs 8 and 9)
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Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman
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