DUBAI: Most major bourses in the Gulf ended lower on Thursday, driven down by losses in financial shares, with Dubai shares falling the most, although the Abu Dhabi index bucked the trend.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index fell 0.3%, with National Commercial Bank shedding 1.4% and Al Rajhi Bank losing 0.3%.
Saudi British Bank (SABB) retreated 1.6%
SABB on Tuesday had reported a net loss widening to 6.87 billion riyals ($1.83 billion) in the quarter compared with a loss of 196 million riyals a year earlier,
due to an impairment in goodwill worth 7.42 billion riyals.
Dubai’s main share index dropped 0.9%, dragged down by a 2.2% fall in Emirates NBD Bank and a 1.7% drop in Emaar Properties.
The Abu Dhabi index edged up 0.1%, helped by a 0.5% rise in the country’s largest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Abu Dhabi raised $5 billion through a three-tranche bond offering on Tuesday, the oil-rich Gulf emirate’s third foray into the international debt markets this year to prop up its finances after a fall in crude prices.
In Qatar, the index eased 0.2%, hurt by a 1.5% fall in petrochemical firm Industries Qatar and a 0.8% drop in Qatar Gas Transport.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index added 0.1%, bolstered by a 0.5% gain in top lender Commercial International Bank.—Reuters
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