The Egyptian stock market is down for the fifth session and Qatar is rising with the support of the banks

(Reuters) – The Egyptian stock market tumbled for a fifth straight session on Monday as the Saudi market rose sharply, rebounding oil prices after falling nearly 8 percent at the end of last week.

The Egyptian benchmark fell 0.8%, after falling 3.8% on Sunday, while Commercial International Bank (CIB), the largest publicly traded bank in Egypt, lost 1, 8%.

The shares of the eight banks traded fell. Investors have been panicking, partly because of fears that the authorities are changing the way the banks' profits on Egyptian treasury bills are calculated for tax purposes. This will increase banks' actual tax rates, said Pharos Holding in a report released Sunday.

Foreign investors sold more Egyptian equities than they had bought on average on Monday, the total volume decreasing, according to the stock market data.

The main index of Saudi Arabia rose 0.2%, after falling 1.3% in the previous session. Saudi fertilizer (SAFCO) increased by 4%, while Saudi Fransi Bank increased by 2.7%.

But the sons of Abdullah al-Khudari fell 3.7%, after the losses of construction companies widened in the third quarter.

The Qatar Exchange index rose 1%, with 17 of the 20 listed stocks up. Arid Telecom shares rose by 3.5% and the National Bank of Qatar, the largest bank in the Middle East, by 1.9%.

Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance lost 5.1% before closing its doors. The company announced it would stop issuing new insurance policies from its Dubai branch and begin liquidation.

The Abu Dhabi index rose 0.5%, with a 1.2% rise for Emirates Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat) and a 1.6% increase for Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank.

The Dubai index fell 0.4%, recording losses for three consecutive sessions. Investment in Dubai fell 3.5% to 1.4 dirhams, its lowest level in five years. The stock has fallen since MSCI decided this month to move the company from its UAE benchmark index of its UAE small business index at the end of November.

Here are the closing levels of the Middle East stock indexes:

– The Saudi index rose 0.2% to 7,529 points.

– The Dubai index fell 0.4% to 2,727 points.

– The index rose 0.5% to 4,491 points.

Qatar: The index rose 1% to 10,357 points.

– Kuwait, the index rose 0.5% to 5294 points.

– Egypt: The index fell 0.8% to 13049 points.

– Bahrain: The index rose 0.5% to 1,327 points.

– Oman: The index fell 0.7% to 4,393 points.