Business
Most Gulf markets ease on weak oil, lacklustre earnings
Most Gulf markets ease on weak oil, lacklustre earnings
About this update from Al Rajhi Bank
By Ateeq Shariff Most stock markets in the Gulf were subdued on Monday on soft oil prices and disappointing corporate earnings.Saudi Arabia's benchmark index TADAWUL:TASI reversed early losses to close flat, with Al Rajhi Bank TADAWUL:1120 dropping 1.2%, while Dar Alarkan Real Estate Development Co TADAWUL:4300 jumped more than 5%, following a sharp rise in quarterly profit.Elsewhere, Al Khaleej Training and Education Co TADAWUL:4290 plunged 10%, to be the biggest faller on the index, following a decrease in third-quarter profit.Among other losers, budget carrier flynas TADAWUL:4264 tumbled 5.4%, after the firm posted losses for the nine-month period ending September 30, from profit a year earlier.Crude prices - a catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets - were steady as investors assessed a potential end to the U.S. government shutdown and concerns around oversupply in the crude market.Brent crude futures ICEEUR:BRN1! rose 11 cents, or 0.17%, to $63.74 a barrel by 1051 GMT.Oil prices remain a risk for the broader market given current price levels and the bearish outlook, said Daniel Takieddine, co-founder and CEO of Sky Links Capital Group.Dubai's main share index DFM:DFMGI dropped 0.3%, with top lender Emirates NBD DFM:EMIRATESNBD losing 2.2% and blue-chip developer Emaar Properties DFM:EMAAR retreating 1.5%.In Abu Dhabi, the index ADX:FADGI was down 0.1%, pressured by a 3.6% decline in Aldar Properties ADX:ALDAR.However, Fertiglobe ADX:FERTIGLB - the largest producer of nitrogen fertilisers in the Middle East and North Africa - advanced 2.1%, after the firm turned to quarterly profit.The Qatari index QSE:GNRI added 0.4%, helped by a 0.8% increase in petrochemical maker Industries Qatar QSE:IQCD.Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index EGX:EGX30 declined 1%, retreating from a record high, dragged down by a 6% slide in tobacco monopoly Eastern Company EGX:EAST.Saudi ArabiaTADAWUL:TASI finished flat at 11,244Abu DhabiADX:FADGI dropped 0.5% to 10,020DubaiDFM:DFMGI eased 0.3% to 6,008QatarQSE:GNRI gained 0.4% to 11,090EgyptEGX:EGX30 declined 1% to 40,416BahrainBAHRAIN:BHBX added 0.1% to 2,077Oman(.MSX30) advanced 1.6% to 5,663Kuwait(.BKP) lost 0.2% to 9,434