Saudi stock market stays soft despite SABIC beat

Reuters

Saudi Arabia’s stock market was soft on Monday despite strong earnings at Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), while Emaar Properties dragged down Dubai’s index.
The Saudi index edged down 0.2 percent. SABIC, the biggest petrochemical producer, gained 0.6 percent after reporting a 10.7 percent rise in third-quarter net profit to 5.79 billion riyals; analysts had on average forecast 4.27 billion riyals. SABIC cited higher average selling prices and higher sales quantities, but this—and Brent crude oil’s rise above $60 a barrel at the end of last week for the first time since 2015 – failed to boost the petrochemical sector as a whole.
PetroRabigh fell 0.5 percent, Petrochem lost 1.3 percent and Saudi Kayan dropped 2.2 percent in unusually heavy trade. But Arabian Pipes, a supplier to the oil and refining industries, jumped 6.4 percent.
Insurers and banks were the most active stocks in Riyadh. Alinmaa Bank lost 1.1 percent while National Commercial Bank, the kingdom’s largest lender, was almost flat.
Malath Cooperative insurance jumped 5.7 percent after reporting third-quarter earnings rose from a low base. The Dubai index edged down 0.3 percent as Emaar Properties lost 1.4 percent. This offset gains by other stocks such as GFH Financial, which rose 1.2 percent after saying it may list its shares in Saudi Arabia.
Emirates NBD also gained 1.2 percent. The bank, Dubai’s largest lender, posted a 2.28 billion dirham net profit for its third quarter, up from 1.66 billion dirhams a year ago; EFG Hermes had predicted 1.85 billion dirhams and SICO Bahrain 1.89 billion. Qatar’s index rose 0.8 percent as Qatar Islamic Bank gained 1.6 percent and telecommunications firm Ooredoo jumped 3.0 percent despite missing analysts’ estimates.
In Kuwait, telecommunications firm Zain fell a further 2.6 percent on Monday. In Egypt, the index surged 1.2 percent as Orascom Telecom jumped 7.6 percent in heavy trade.