ADX bounces back after early losses

Abu Dhabi’s blue-chip index recovered from initial losses and recorded its biggest oneday gain in nearly two months, while Dubai erased most of the session’s losses to end roughly flat.

Saudi’s Tadawul bourse lost 0.6 per cent at 7,802 points, as National Medical Care tanked 10 per cent on results that showed quarterly profit more than halved year-on-year. Qassim Cement fell 1.4 per cent as its third-quarter net profit after zakat and tax slumped nearly 90 percent. The kingdom’s heavyweights Al Rajhi Bank and Saudi Basic Industries Corporation both fell by 0.5 per cent.

“We believe sentiment [in the Saudi market] has stabilised and foreigners would again deploy capital before the index inclusion timeline,” Vrajesh Bhandari, portfolio manager at Al Mal Capital, told Reuters.

A monthly Reuters poll of 13 Middle Eastern fund managers last week also showed many managers are still looking ahead to estimated inflows into Saudi Arabia of about $15 billion of “passive” funds next year when Riyadh joins emerging market indexes.

The Abu Dhabi stock index rose 1.1 per cent, helped by a 1.6 per cent rise in First Abu Dhabi Bank and a 7 per cent surge in Waha Capital.

Major real estate stocks in Dubai rose at 2,795 points, with property developer Emaar Malls gaining 1.7 per cent after it reported a double-digit jump in quarterly profit, while Damac Properties rose 4 per cent.

Arabtec Holding shrugged off earlier losses and climbed 3 per cent higher. The construction company earlier said it had appointed Moelis & Company of to advise and assist with debt financial modelling and structuring options.

But the gains were partly offset by a 1.5 per cent slide in Dubai’s largest bank Emirates NBD and a 1.7 per cent fall in Dubai Financial Market.

Egypt’s blue-chip index inched 0.5 per cent higher at 13,235 points as Abu Qir Fertilizers and Chemical Industries rose 3.2 per cent, a day after it reported that profit jumped by 61.2 per cent in the first quarter.

In Kuwait the index was down 0.1 per cent at 5,264 points while in Bahrain the index was up 0.1 per cent at 1,316 points. The Omani index was down 0.2 per cent at 4,415 points.