Dubai index rises back above 200-day average

Most stock markets in the Middle East rose on Sunday as quarterly earnings reports remained generally positive and the global background was supportive.

US stocks were up on Friday after strong results from Microsoft and Procter & Gamble. Brent oil prices slipped but were little changed on the week.

This helped Dubai's index rise 2.5 per cent to 4,689 points, closing back above its 200-day average at 4,594 points, a positive technical signal. Retail investors

Shares in cooling company Tabreed jumped 4.8 per cent after it reported a 28 per cent rise in third-quarter net profit on Thursday.

Property and construction stocks were top performers as contractors Drake and Scull and Arabtec jumped 6.5 and 5.3 per cent respectively, while developer Union Properties added 5.1 per cent.

"This is just speculation," said Ali Adou, portfolio manager at The National Investor in Abu Dhabi, said of the sharp moves.

In Arabtec's case, in particular, investors are once again betting that Abu Dhabi state fund Aabar Investments may soon buy the stake held by Arabtec's former chief executive Hasan Ismaik, who resigned in June, he said. Ismaik has said he was in talks to sell the stake at no less than Dh5 per share, a premium to Sunday's close of Dh4.41.

Retail investors were net buyers in Dubai on Sunday, according to bourse data.

Abu Dhabi's benchmark edged up 0.8 per cent on the back of Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and developer Aldar Properties, up 2.6 and 4.9 per cent respectively.

Aldar said on Sunday that it had fully leased out the roughly 1,300 units available at its The Gate and Arc Towers development in Abu Dhabi after putting them on the market for just under a year.

QATAR, SAUDI

Qatar's bourse added 0.6 per cent in a broad rally. Shares in Qatar Gas Transport Co (Nakilat), one of the world's largest shippers of liquefied natural gas, rose 2.4 per cent after it posted a 25 per cent rise in nine-month profit.

The firm's third-quarter profit was 248 million riyals ($68.1 million), according to Reuters calculations, above the estimate of QNB Financial Services, which had forecast 213.5m riyals.

Saudi Arabia's index rose 1.5 per cent even as shares in Saudi Basic Industries Corp (Sabic), the Gulf's largest listed company, fell on disappointing third-quarter results.

Sabic slid 0.6 per cent after posting a 4.5 per cent decrease in third-quarter profit on Sunday, missing analysts' estimates. The company made 6.18 billion riyals ($1.65 billion) in the quarter, against analysts' average forecast of 6.63 billion riyals. It blamed a drop in sales and other income - a negative signal for all Gulf energy and petrochemical exporters.

Other stocks more than offset Sabic's decline. Shares in Saudi Arabian Mining Co (Ma'aden), the Gulf's largest miner, surged 5.9 per cent after it beat analysts' forecasts on Thursday and reported a smaller-than-expected profit decline.

The company's net profit in the three months to September 30 was 485.4 million riyals, while analysts surveyed by Reuters had forecast on average that Ma'aden would report a profit of 383 million riyals.

Food maker Savola Group rose 4.1 per cent after posting a 53.3 per cent jump in third-quarter net profit. The firm made 701.4 million riyals, while analysts had forecast 650 million riyals.

The firm also said on Thursday that it would distribute a third-quarter dividend of 0.75 riyal per share, up from 0.5 riyal in the same period of 2013.

In Kuwait, shares in Kuwait Investment Co jumped 7.6 per cent on news that the Kuwait Investment Authority (Kia) would offer to the public its 76.2 per cent stake in the firm early next year.

The stock had jumped by the same amount on Thursday, immediately after the announcement, but the bourse then suspended it and cancelled all the day's trades pending clarification of the Kia's plan.

The privatisation programme will also include Islamic bank Kuwait Finance House (KFH) and telecommunications operator Zain, the Kia  has said.

However, KFH shares fell 2.4 per cent on Sunday, having jumped 5.1 per cent on Thursday when the lender reported quarterly earnings that were in line with estimates. Kuwait's main index slipped 0.4 per cent on Sunday.

Bourses in Oman and Bahrain were closed for the Hijri New Year and trading there will resume on Monday.

SUNDAY'S HIGHLIGHTS

DUBAI
* The index rose 2.5 per cent to 4,689 points.
ABU DHABI
* The index added 0.8 per cent to 4,870 points.
SAUDI ARABIA
* The index gained 1.5 per cent to 10,314 points.
QATAR
* The index climbed 0.6 per cent to 13,544 points.
EGYPT
* The index slipped 0.3 per cent to 8,775 points.
KUWAIT
* The index edged down 0.4 per cent to 7,382 points.  


 

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