Dubai gains, led by Emaar

Qatar slips to four-month low

DUBAI, Feb 14, (RTRS): Dubai stocks rose on Thursday as earnings at Emaar-linked companies lifted its battered real estate shares, while Qatar’s market was pulled down to a four-month low by a selloff in its blue-chip firms.

In Dubai, the index rose 1.7 percent, helped by gains in the emirate’s largest listed developer, Emaar Properties and its units, Emaar Development and Emaar Malls.

Emaar Properties, Dubai’s biggest listed property company, gained 6.5 percent. It beat expectations to post a 27 percent rise in its fourth-quarter profit after market close.

Emaar Development rose 9.5 percent after its fourth-quarter profit and revenue more than doubled. Its margins remained steady for the year, suggesting cost efficiencies, as asset prices continue to fall in Dubai, Arqaam Capital said, even asit said outlook for full-year 2019 is “likely not that bright”.

Emaar Malls rose 6 percent after reporting a 2.1 percent gain in its fourth-quarter net profit. In 2018, the Dubai index fell more than 25 percent to become the world’s worst-performing major stock market in local currency terms, led by declining real estate stocks.

Dubai property prices have fallen from their mid-2014 peak,hurting earnings of developers and forcing construction and engineering companies to cut jobs and halt expansion plans.

“Some good names were punished due to low investor confidence, but since fourth-quarter numbers for blue-chips like Emaar and its units were impressive and above expectations, the negative scenario could be out of investors’ minds,” said Tariq Qaqish, managing director at the asset-management division of Mena Corp Financial Services.

But Air Arabia dropped 6.1 percent to its lowest since April, 2013 after posting a full-year loss, hurt by impairments linked to its exposure to collapsed private equity firm Abraaj. Qatar’s index fell for a seventh straight day,declining 2.4 percent to its lowest since October 2018.

The Middle East’s second-largest petrochemical maker, Industries Qatar, fell 5.9 percent, its worst day since March2018. Qatar performed well in 2018 as companies raised limits on foreign ownership of their shares; the index had jumped 21percent, making it one of the world’s best-performing markets. But the impact of higher ownership limits appears to have faded away with the index falling 2.4 percent year-to-date.

Most of Qatar’s heavyweights closed in the red last week,with Qatari nationals being net sellers, according to a SICO Research note. Gulf International Services slumped 9.4 percent after reporting a fullyear loss compared with a profit a year earlier. The firm did not recommend a dividend for 2018.

The Abu Dhabi index was up 0.2 percent. The emirate’s biggest developer, Aldar Properties, climbed 11.5percent for its best one-day gain since 2014. It proposed a fullyear dividend of 14 fils per share, up from 12 fils a year earlier.

Egypt’s blue-chip index rose 0.2 percent as Commercial International Bank gained 1.7 percent and Arabia Cotton Ginning increased 3.4 percent on higher standalone profit and revenue for the half-year. Saudi Arabia’s index edged up 0.1 percent with Saudi National Commercial Bank adding 0.7 percent and Savola Group, its largest food products company, gaining 1.8percent.

Saudi Arabia The index edged up 0.1 pct to 8,626 points