
Most Gulf bourses fall on lower oil, corporate earnings
Dubai's benchmark stock index (.DFMGI), opens new tab slipped 0.6%, after two straight sessions of gains, with almost all sectors in the negative territory. Toll operator Salik (SALIK.DU), opens new tab dropped 2.6% and blue-chip developer Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU), opens new tab lost 1.3%.
"The market could remain exposed to a correction after weeks of gains and a period of consolidation", said Joseph Dahrieh, managing principal at Tickmill.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark stock index (.TASI), opens new tab was down for a fourth day, falling 0.2% to 10,770, its lowest level in nearly two months. IT, materials and consumer discretionary stocks were the biggest losers while communication, industry and utilities gained.
Methanol Chemicals Co (2001.SE), opens new tab slumped 9.9% after the chemicals producer posted a second-quarter net loss. Qassim Cement (3040.SE), opens new tab slid 3.6% after reporting a 14.5% fall in second-quarter net profit on Monday.
Oil prices, a catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets, slid 0.6% amid uncertainty ahead of a crucial meet between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday to discuss an end to the war in Ukraine.
Brent was trading at $66.2 a barrel by 1250 GMT.
The Abu Dhabi benchmark index (.FTFADGI), opens new tab fell for a fifth day, down 0.1%. E7 Group (E7.AD), opens new tab dropped 2.7% after the printing and packaging solutions provider reported an 82.1% drop in second-quarter net profit, while investment firm Agility Global (AGILITY.AD), opens new tab shed 0.9% as it posted a 19% decrease in second-quarter profit attributable.
In contrast, ADNOC Logistics & Services (ADNOCLS.AD), opens new tab climbed 7.5%, its biggest intraday percentage gain in over two years.
Maritime logistics company ADNOCLS reported a 14% rise in second quarter net profit, beating expectations per data compiled by LSEG.
The Qatari benchmark index (.QSI), opens new tab rose 0.4%, with most constituents posting gains, led by communication and finance shares. Qatar National Bank (QNBK.QA), opens new tab, the region's largest lender, added 0.7% and Qatar Navigation (QNNC.QA), opens new tab advanced 2.4%.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index (.EGX30), opens new tab was up 0.3%, lifted by a 1% gain in Emaar Misr for Development (EMFD.CA), opens new tab and a 1.3% rise in Belton Financial Holding (BTFH.CA), opens new tab.
Financial services provider Belton reported on Monday its second-quarter net profit attributable has almost doubled.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Reuters
11 minutes ago
- Reuters
Standard Chartered lifts year-end ether forecast to $7,500
Aug 13 (Reuters) - Standard Chartered raised its year-end target for ether to $7,500 from $4,000 on Wednesday, citing improvement in industry engagement in recent months and emergence of Ethereum treasury companies. The brokerage also raised its 2028 year-end ether forecast to $25,000 from $7,500 World's no.2 crytocurrency was last trading at $4,679.47, a level last seen in November 2021.


Reuters
11 minutes ago
- Reuters
European shares near two-week highs on Fed rate cut hopes
Aug 13 (Reuters) - European shares hit a near two-week high on Wednesday, with technology and defence stocks recovering from recent losses, after tame U.S. inflation data cemented expectations of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve next month. The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX), opens new tab rose 0.5%, as of 0904 GMT, trading at its highest since July 31. Wall Street indexes closed at record highs on Tuesday after data showed a mild inflation bump in July, offering relief to investors worried about U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs lifting price pressures. Traders are currently pricing in a 96% chance of a Fed rate cut in September, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool. There is a bit of growing expectation of a rate cut, maybe even a 50-basis-point cut, although that seems unlikely, said Gene Salerno, chief investment officer for UK Wealth Management at UBP. "Those factors are giving some enthusiasm, but the market might be a bit overexuberant about what they can read into from that." Closer home, data showed German inflation eased to 1.8% in July, confirming preliminary data, a sign of easing price pressures in Europe's biggest economy. Leaders from Europe and Ukraine are set to speak to Trump later in the day ahead of his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump will host Putin at talks in Alaska on Friday that the U.S. president has said will serve as a "feel-out" meeting in his efforts to end the Russo-Ukraine war. Defense stocks (.SXPARO), opens new tab rose 1.4%, recovering from recent losses amid expectations of an end to the Russia-Ukraine war. Rheinmetall and Renk ( opens new tab added 2.9% and 5.4%, respectively. Renk ( opens new tab reported better-than-expected second-quarter revenue with the German tank gearbox maker benefitting from increased European defence spending. The technology sector (.SX8P), opens new tab climbed 1.4% after falling to a three-month low in the previous session. Nearly half of the STOXX 600 companies have reported second-quarter results so far, and 54% of them have beat earnings estimates, in-line with the beat rate in a typical quarter, according to LSEG I/B/E/S data. Glanbia (GL9.I), opens new tab shares jumped to the top of the STOXX 600 index, adding 12.6% after the nutrition supplement maker posted first-half results and said the tariff hit was 'manageable.' UK insurer Beazley (BEZG.L), opens new tab dropped 9.6% after it trimmed its annual premium growth forecast. Evolution ( opens new tab fell 10.6% to the bottom of the STOXX 600 after a Bloomberg report based on a court filing showed the online gambling company's casino games made their way illegally to banned markets.


Reuters
11 minutes ago
- Reuters
South African business confidence edges up in July ahead of Trump's 30% tariff
JOHANNESBURG, Aug 13 (Reuters) - South African business confidence rose in July, helped by higher new vehicle sales, rising manufacturing output, strong precious metals prices and well-contained inflation, data showed on Wednesday. The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Business Confidence Index (ZABCI=ECI), opens new tab rose to 116.7 in July, up from 113.2 in June. The business chamber releases the index every two months. June's business confidence level was lower than May's 115.8 reading before July's rebound. The chamber said the 30% tariff on South African exports to the U.S. that kicked in last week could weigh on sentiment in the remainder of the year. "The imposition of a general tariff of 30% by the USA on exports from South Africa to the USA could have unintended and austere consequences for the South African economy and for longer-term business relations," the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI) said in a statement. South African officials were planning to submit a revised trade deal offer to Washington on Tuesday to try to secure a lower tariff or exempt major industries. Months of negotiations with U.S. President Donald Trump's administration have so far failed to produce a deal. SACCI said it was important that South Africa does everything possible to have positive trade relations with the U.S. given subdued economic growth forecasts for this year and next.