Major stock markets in the Gulf were mixed in early trade on Wednesday, as mixed corporate earnings failed to cheer investor sentiment, with the Saudi index set to fall for a third straight session.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index dropped 0.5%, hit by a 2.9% fall in Saudi Basic Industries Corp after the petrochemical maker reported a slightly wider loss in the fourth quarter.
Among other losers, Yanbu National Petrochemical Co slid 3.8%, as the firm traded ex-dividend, while Saudi Ceramic Company tumbled 4.3%, on course to extend losses for a second session, a day after the firm posted annual loss.
However, Saudi Telecom Company (STC) advanced 2.8%, as the telco reported an annual profit of 24.69 billion riyals ($6.58 billion) far ahead of ahead of analysts’ estimates of 13.70 bln riyals.
In a separate bourse filing, STC’s board proposed a fourth-quarter cash dividend of 0.55 riyal, a 37.5% increase from a year earlier. Dubai’s main share index added 0.2%, helped by a 1% rise in top lender Emirates NBD (ENBD).
In the previous session, ENBD made a mandatory cash offer to buy Emirates Islamic Bank at 11.95 dirhams ($3.25) per share. In Abu Dhabi, the index edged 0.1% higher, supported by a 1.3% gain in telecoms group e& as the group agreed to sell its 40% stake in Khazna Data Center Holdings for $2.2 billion.
Most Gulf markets ease on weak earnings, US curbs on China
Elsewhere, Multiply Group rose 1%, following the investment holding company’s agreement to buy a 67.9% stake in Spanish fashion retail group Tendam from international funds CVC and PAI Partners.
Separately, Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways aims to announce the launch of a $1 billion initial public offering this week, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing two sources.
The Qatari index fell 0.6%, pressured by a 0.9% decline in the Gulf’s biggest lender Qatar National Bank .
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