Pullback in oil prices weighs on stocks

Major Gulf stock markets softened yesterday, in line with a small pullback by global bourses and oil prices, but Egypt was buoyed for a second day by strength in its biggest bank.

The Saudi stock index rose in early trade but closed 0.3 per cent down as Saudi British Bank fell 2.2 per cent after reporting a 16.3 per cent rise in fourth-quarter net profit to 706 million Saudi riyals, missing analysts’ average forecast of 946.5m riyals.

Saudi Printing & Packaging gained 1.2 per cent after winning a 45.6m riyal tender from the education ministry to print syllabuses.

Arabian Cement also climbed 1.2 per cent after proposing a second-half dividend of 1 riyal per share, continuing payouts despite reporting annual net profit almost halved. For the second half of 2016 it paid 2 riyals.

Dubai’s index fell 0.8 per cent, again depressed by weak real estate stocks, with Emaar Properties down 1.2 per cent.

S&P Global Ratings’ analysts forecast yesterday that Dubai’s real estate slump would continue until at least 2020 and that residential property prices could decline by a further 10 to 15 per cent over the next two years because of new supply.

Investment company GFH Financial, however, rose 1.6 per cent after saying this week that it had rejected the resignation of Jassim Alseddiqi, chief executive of Abu Dhabi Financial Group, from the board. This appeared to suggest that business ties between GFH and ADFG would continue.

In Abu Dhabi, the index was little changed, though Abu Dhabi National Energy, which has been rising sharply since it reported nearly two weeks ago that it swung to an annual profit, jumped a further 13.4 per cent in heavy trade.

The Qatar index edged down 0.1 per cent. Widam Food plunged by 8 per cent as it went ex-dividend, but Aamal Holding gained 2.3 per cent after it said that Doha Cables, owned by Senyar Industries Qatar, in which Aamal owns 50 per cent, was awarded a 1.24 billion riyal two-year contract to supply power cables to Qatar General Electricity & Water Corp.

Egypt’s index added 0.4 per cent as Commercial International Bank, which had added 1.1 per cent on Monday, climbed a further 1.4 per cent.