Gulf equity markets close mixed

Etisalat earnings lift Abu Dhabi

DUBAI, July 27, (RTRS): A slide in shares of Egypt’s Juhayna Food Industries after it reported secondquarter earnings pulled down Egypt’s stock market on Thursday, while Gulf bourses were mixed.

Egypt’s blue-chip index dropped 1.4 percent as Juhayna sank 4.2 percent after saying consolidated net profit attributable to shareholders fell to 27.2 million Egyptian pounds ($1.5 million) from 29.8 million pounds a year earlier.

A couple of other blue chips also retreated significantly: Commercial International Bank lost 1.9 percent and Global Telecom slipped 3.0 percent.

Another food maker, Edita Food Industries, tumbled 4.3 percent after posting a quarterly loss of 1.7 million pounds compared to a profit of 41.6 million pounds a year ago.

In the Gulf, markets again failed to follow global equities’ uptrend, underlining how shaky oil prices, sluggish economies and an uninspiring corporate profit outlook are deterring investors in the region.

In Saudi Arabia, the index fell 0.4 percent in a broad-based decline; losers outnumbered gainers by 114 to 59. National Medical tumbled 6.4 percent after its quarterly profit shrank to 9.5 million riyals ($2.5 million) from 59.3 million riyals.

Chemanol climbed as much as 2.0 percent after reporting second-quarter net profit jumped to 2.6 million riyals from almost zero a year earlier, but it closed only 0.2 percent higher.

Dubai’s index edged down 0.1 percent with Dubai Financial Market, the most heavily traded stock, closing flat after an early surge.

Abu Dhabi’s index rose 1.0 percent as telecommunications firm Etisalat gained 2.2 percent. It posted a 14.7 percent drop in second-quarter net profit attributable to shareholders as impairments rose, its full financial report showed on Thursday.

However, on Wednesday it issued a statement saying its net profit rose 6 percent, without giving any breakdown of the earnings.

The United Arab Emirates’ biggest bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank, created this year by a merger of National Bank of Abu Dhabi and First Gulf Bank, rose 1.0 percent after reporting a quarterly net profit of 2.56 billion dirhams ($697.5 million).

On a pro-forma basis, the profit was down from 2.68 billion dirhams a year earlier, primarily due to slower business momentum. It was in line with a projection of 2.57 billion dirhams by EFG Hermes.

Qatar’s index fell 0.2 percent as Qatar First Bank dropped 2.3 percent to 7.60 riyals, though it came well off an intra-day low of 7.21 riyals.

The bank reported a first-half net loss of 76.7 million riyals ($21.1 million) versus a profit of 16.8 million riyals a year ago. In the first quarter of this year, it made a net loss of 9.6 million riyals.

Telecommunications operator Ooredoo closed flat after reporting a 12 percent drop in second-quarter net profit to 513 million riyals; SICO Bahrain had forecast 642.81 million riyals and EFG Hermes, 529.3 million riyals.

Saudi Arabia

The index fell 0.4 percent to 7,175 points.

Dubai

The index edged down 0.1 percent to 3,606 points.

Abu Dhabi

The index rose 1.0 percent to 4,568 points.

Qatar

The index fell 0.2 percent to 9,563 points.

Egypt

The index dropped 1.3 percent to 13,625 points.

Kuwait

The index slipped 0.6 percent to 6,805 points.

Bahrain

The index fell 0.2 percent to 1,335 points.

Oman

The index gained 0.4 percent to 5,048 points.