Mideast Stocks: Aramco weighs on Saudi bourse, profit-taking hits Dubai
Most stock markets in the Gulf ended lower on Monday as oil giant Saudi Aramco weighed on the Saudi index, while the Dubai bourse extended losses on profit-taking.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index dropped 0.6%, pulled lower by a 1.8% fall in Saudi Aramco.
Aramco is forecast to have no performance-linked dividend this year after a more balanced 2024 cash cycle following earlier bumper results that backed the special payout, JPMorgan said in a research note on Friday. The oil behemoth is slated to report its 2024 results on March 4.
On the other hand, ACWA Power Company was up 2.3%, on track to extend gains from the previous session. ACWA to buy $693 million stakes in Kuwait and Bahrain assets from ENGIE, covering operating capacities of 4.61 GW gas-fired power generation and 1.11 million cubic meters per day (m3/day) water desalination facilities.
Dubai's main share index lost 0.5%, extending losses for a second session, with blue-chip developer Emaar Properties declining 1.8%. Elsewhere, district cooling services provider Empower gave up early gains to close 2.9% lower. Empower and Dubai Multi Commodities Centre signed an agreement to supply the next phase of Uptown Dubai with sustainable district cooling services.
These movements may represent a healthy correction before the market resumes its upward trajectory, supported by recent positive results and strong growth projections for the year, said Joseph Dahrieh, Managing Principal at Tickmill. However, construction and engineering company Drake & Scull International advanced 1.8%, after winning contracts worth over 1 billion dirhams ($272.28 million) for the Arabian Hills project.
In Abu Dhabi, the index eased 0.2%.
The Qatari index added 0.2%, helped by a 1.2% rise in Qatar Islamic Bank. Meanwhile, Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said on Sunday that six venture capital firms the investment authority has invested in as part of its "fund of funds" programme will open offices or regional headquarters in Qatar.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index closed 0.3% lower, hit by a 2.3% fall in EFG Holding Company.
SAUDI ARABIA fell 0.6% to 12,319
Abu Dhabi lost 0.2% to 9,595
Dubai down 0.5% to 5,335
QATAR gained 0.2% to 10,666
EGYPT down 0.3% to 30,925
BAHRAIN added 0.3% to 1,950
OMAN eased 0.6% to 4,428
KUWAIT was flat at 8,694
($1 = 3.6727 UAE dirham)
Reuters
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