Saudi bounces on bargain hunting

Egypt shares extend losses

DUBAI, Oct 24, (RTRS): Saudi Arabia’s stock market closed higher for a fourth straight session on Monday after last week’s mega international bond sale by the government boosted sentiment, but Egyptian shares dropped further as a chronic dollar shortage weighed on sentiment.

Riyadh’s stock index rose 1.0 percent, taking its gains over the last four sessions to 6.2 percent.

It underperformed the region earlier this year as low oil prices and government austerity measures hit the economy hard, so it may now have more room to snap back.

“At current valuations, the positive mood in the market is not likely to fade, but investors are starting to hunt for bargain buys,” said a Jeddah-based portfolio manager.

Petrochemical and industrial company Alujain jumped 7.6 percent after it said it would distribute a dividend of 0.5 riyal per share for 2016 - its first dividend since 1998.

Retail chain Jarir Marketing gained 3.2 percent after Chairman Muhammad Alagil told Reuters that the retail sector’s slump might be close to ending: “We think the sharp decline is fundamentally over, or will be over by the end of this year.”

The stock had dropped 45 percent year-to-date. Alagil said it was excessively cheap and he didn’t exclude the possibility of a share buyback, though he stressed this would depend on the board’s decision.

Other local demand-driven shares also firmed, with Jarir’s competitor United Electronics (Extra) adding 3.0 percent. Dubai’s index edged up 0.1 percent with GFH Financial Group, the most traded stock, jumping 6.4 percent after the company said it won a civil case against a former deputy chief executive at one of its units for an around of $5 million.

But Deyaar Development fell 0.2 percent despite reporting a 22.5 percent jump in third-quarter profit; revenue for the period soared five times.

Abu Dhabi slipped 0.2 percent, weighed down by declines in blue chips. Telecommunication operator Etisalat dropped 1.0 percent and First Gulf Bank lost 0.9 percent. Both companies are due to report quarterly results on Wednesday.

But Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank added 0.7 percent, recovering from an initial drop in its first hour of trade after reporting a 17 percent fall in third-quarter profit to 999.1 million dirhams ($272 million). Three analysts polled by Reuters had on average forecast 1.10 billion dirhams. The stock rebounded in active trade to stand 0.2 percent higher.

In Qatar, the index dropped 0.3 percent as petrochemicals, metals and fertiliser producer Industries Qatar fell 2.2 percent after posting a 28.9 percent drop in third-quarter net profit to 759.7 million riyals ($208.7 million). Analysts had forecast 996.6 million riyals .

Egypt’s index of the 30 most valuable shares retreated 0.6 percent. It is now down 3.3 percent since hitting a 16-month high on Oct. 16.

Edita Food Industries dropped as much 6.7 percent in early trade after the company said one of its subsidiaries has temporarily shut a factory when the government seized its store of sugar in its campaign to obtain sugar supplies. It managed to recover to close up 4.7 percent, but at its lowest ever closing price of 7.95 Egyptian pounds.

Sugar has almost vanished at supermarkets across Egypt, prompting media talk of a crisis and pushing the state to rapidly increase imports.

This sparked anxiety across other commodity and export- linked sectors as a dollar shortage, which has plagued the country since 2011, remains investors’ major concern. Arab Cotton Ginning lost 1.1 percent and Arabian Food Industries fell 0.7 percent.