Mideast Stocks: Egypt outperforms Mideast markets; Dubai eases

Mideast Stocks: Egypt outperforms Mideast markets; Dubai eases

The Egyptian bourse rose sharply on Thursday, ending two sessions of losses as most of its constituents were in positive territory, while most major Gulf markets also ended higher.The blue-chip index in Egypt closed up 1.3%, with 24 of the 30 stocks in the index posting gains, including heavyweight Commercial International Bank, which rose 0.8%.Egypt's annual urban consumer price inflation decreased to a more than one-year low of 3.4% in August, from 4.2% in July, the country's statistics agency CAPMAS said.Saudi Arabia's benchmark index rose 0.7%, with Saudi Arabian Mining Company jumping 4.9% and Al Rajhi Bank firming 0.5%.On Wednesday, the kingdom's finance minister said Saudi Arabia's economy was likely to contract this year, but less sharply than International Monetary Fund forecasts.Dubai's main share index slipped 0.1%, with sharia-compliant lender