Reuters reported that shares in Dubai contractor Arabtec surged nearly 5% to a 13 month high on December 18th 2011 in bulk buying and Saudi Basic Industries Corporation helped lift the Kingdom's bourse.

Traders said that an individual buyer is looking to acquire a small stake in Arabtec. The construction firm said the company's CEO Mr Riad Kamal has transferred his shares in the firm to his family, and denied market rumors of a stake sale.

Mr Ziad Makhzoumi CFO of Arabtec told Reuters that "Mr Kamal has distributed his shares among his three daughters as part of his estate planning. This has nothing to do with anyone buying or selling."

Mr Marwan Shurrab VP and chief trader at Gulfmena Investments said that "We have no reason to increase risk in UAE equity markets. After MSCI's decision, we return to our correlation with international markets. There is no major catalyst for a move against (global) markets."

In Saudi Arabia, SABIC, the world's largest chemicals producer, climbed 1.1% to rebound from Saturday's two week low after saying it would issue a SAR 3 per share dividend for the second half of 2011.

The Tadawul All Shares Index gained 0.2% to 6,268 points, rising for a third straight session. Other petrochemical stocks also advanced, with Saudi Kayan Petrochemical up 0.6% and Alujain climbing 2%.

The building and construction index rose 0.9%, also up for a third session with investors also betting on consumer driven stocks to end the year strongly.

(Sourced from www.arabnews.com)