Saudi stocks extend losses

DUBAI: The Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) fell a further 0.5 percent on Wednesday, taking its losses over the last two sessions to 3 percent.

Second-quarter earnings announcements are due to start around mid-July, and Al-Rajhi Capital predicted in a note that consumer-related sectors would do well because of the reinstatement of civil servants’ allowances and the month of Ramadan, which traditionally sees strong consumer spending.

Mobile phone and computer retailer United Electronics added 3 percent.

Earnings momentum for the broader market, however, is expected to be weak, according to a note by EFG Hermes.

“Upside is limited for most of our coverage,” it said, adding that it preferred banks over petrochemicals, and secular growth stories such as the insurance and supermarket industries.

In Dubai, builder Arabtec fell 1.2 percent on profit-taking to AED3.19 ($0.87). Earlier in the day, it hit a high of AED3.37 after announcing its subsidiary Target Engineering had been awarded four projects worth AED289 million ($79 million).

Fifteen other shares fell and 11 advanced as the Dubai index closed near flat.

The banking sector helped take Abu Dhabi’s index 0.5 percent higher with bellwether First Abu Dhabi Bank adding 1 percent.

In Cairo, the blue-chip index closed near flat. The most heavily traded stock of the day was private equity firm Qalaa Holding, which jumped 6.9 percent.

Earlier this week, its mining subsidiary ASEC Company for Mining reported that first-quarter net profit jumped to 232.4 million Egyptian pounds from a year-earlier loss 8.9 million pounds.

ASEC shares jumped 21 percent in the past two days but fell back 5.2 percent on Wednesday. The broader index added 0.7 percent.

Qatar’s stock index edged up on Wednesday. A deadline for Qatar to comply with a list of demands made by the states had expired overnight. Doha has shown no sign of acquiescing to major demands.

Qatar’s index added 0.4 percent as 10 traded shares rose, including ones favored by foreign funds such as Islamic lender Masraf Al-Rayan, which added 1 percent.

Foreign funds were net buyers of Qatari stocks by a very narrow margin, bourse data showed; local funds were also net buyers, while Gulf funds were sellers. Twenty-seven stocks declined.