Mixed trading day for Gulf indexes

After a strong opening on the back of last week’s firm oil prices, Arabian Gulf stock markets were mixed yesterday, with Dana Gas weighing on the Abu Dhabi exchange.

The Saudi index lost 0.3 per cent to 8,225 points after rising in early trade. Blue-chip Saudi Basic Industries lost 0.6 per cent despite reporting a 5.4 per cent rise in first-quarter net profit, broadly in line with analysts’ forecasts.

Islamic lender Alinma, one of the most heavily traded stocks, climbed 0.5 per cent early on Sunday but had dropped 0.7 per cent by the market close. The bank reported a quarterly profit rise of 38 per cent year on year.

But according to a note by Sico Research, Alinma was trading at a “demanding valuation” compared to banking peers in Saudi Arabia. The note also said the bank’s dividend yield was “moderate” at 4 per cent.

In Dubai, the index was up 0.2 per cent to 3,048 points, lifted by Shuaa Capital, the market’s most heavily traded stock, which gained 5.7 per cent to Dh1.11.

Shuaa began rebounding from an 18-month low last Thursday and is testing technical resistance on its 200-day average, now at Dh1.14, which it has not exceeded since June 2017.

The company said last week it had completed the acquisition of Integrated Capital and brokerage subsidiary Integrated Securities, which became the third company to offer technical short-selling services on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, which dropped 0.2 per cent to to 4,685 points.

Emaar Malls rose 1.4 per cent as it announced a first quarter net profit of Dh548 million on Sunday, up from Dh539m one year earlier.

In Abu Dhabi, energy producer Dana Gas, by large the most traded stock on Sunday, dropped 5 per cent, pushing the index down 0.2 per cent.

Late last week, an English court refused the company’s application to overturn a previous order restraining Dana Gas from distributing dividends to its shareholders for 2017.

A London high court judge ordered Dana to pay any dividends into an English bank account where the funds must be held until the company’s dispute with creditors over its $700m Islamic bond is resolved, sources told Reuters on Friday.