Gulf markets seen upbeat after Greek bailout

Gulf markets are seen buoyed after Greece signed a deal for its second bailout package with Euro Zone finance ministers, helping lift Asian stocks.

The euro jumped and Asian stocks pared losses on Tuesday after euro zone policy makers agreed to the bailout package that includes new financing of €130 billion and aims to cut Greece's debt to 121 per cent of GDP by 2020.

"It will have some knock on effect - we have seen a positive skew to markets this morning, add that to support in Mena markets but they seem to have their own drivers at the moment rather than looking at external factors," says Julian Bruce, EFG-Hermes director of institutional equity sales.

Local markets, especially in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have rallied strongly in recent weeks.

Dubai's index slipped a day earlier from Sunday's eight-month peak and could see further profit-taking. Investor sentiment has turned positive in the country on back of improving fundamentals.

Dubai lender Emirates NBD said it could soon issue the Gulf Arab region's first yuan bond, while in other news, sources said the bank has opted to delay a potential Swiss franc-denominated bond sale until more favourable market conditions.

UAE telecoms operator Etisalat will be in focus after saying it may restructure its operations to cut costs. The operator also proposed a 60 per cent dividend for 2011.