5 days ago
Mideast Stocks: Most Gulf bourses edge higher as stronger oil prices offset mixed earnings
Most Gulf equity markets eked out gains on Thursday as stronger oil prices lifted sentiment and offset a mixed batch of earnings reports.
Oil prices, a catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets, climbed 1.1% ahead of a meeting 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 crude was trading at $66.4 a barrel by 1330 GMT.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark stock index snapped a five session losing streak, rising 0.7% with most constituents higher on the day. Al Rajhi Bank rose 1.4% and Saudi Arabian Mining added 1.3%. Arabian Plastic Industrial Company climbed 6.4% after the plastics maker reported a doubling in half-year net profit.
The Qatari benchmark index inched up 0.1%, just stretching gains to a fourth day, with Doha Bank rising 3.9% and Qatar Navigation up 2.4%.
Dubai's benchmark index also eked out a 0.1% gain after two sessions of losses, with most sectors in positive territory. Emirates NBD, the emirate's largest lender, added 0.6% and Salik Company rose 4.1%. Toll operator Salik posted a 49.6% increase in second-quarter net profit on Wednesday, beating estimates, and declared a half-year dividend of 10.2781 fils, up 41% from a year earlier.
In Abu Dhabi, the benchmark index fell 0.3%, extending a losing streak to a seventh session, the longest since February 2024. ADNOC Gas dropped 1.5% and retail and real estate investor MAIR Group fell 2.2% after posting a 50.7% fall in second-quarter net profit. "
Abu Dhabi's extended decline results from slower diversification, dependence on cyclical oil revenues, and diminished foreign investment since 2022, with an oversupply in real estate hampering growth," said Rania Gule, senior market analyst at – MENA.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index was down 0.8%, pressured by a 2.8% drop in Qalaa Holdings and a 2.6% fall for Belton Financial Holding. Telecom Egypt rose 0.4% after its second-quarter net profit more than doubled.
SAUDI ARABIA rose 0.7% to 10,834
KUWAIT up 0.2% to 9,363
QATAR gained 0.1% to 11,649
EGYPT down 0.8% to 35,576
BAHRAIN lost 0.1% to 1,946
OMAN up 0.6% to 4,930
ABU DHABI down 0.3% to 10,251
DUBAI added 0.1% to 6,095
(Reporting by Md Manzer Hussain; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
