Saudi Arabia leads declines in Gulf markets; Sabic slips

 

SAUDI ARABIA (RTRS): Saudi Arabia’s main index leads declines across the Gulf on Wednesday as Saudi Basic Industries Corp and Al-Rajhi Bank fall. SABIC slips 2.15 percent and Al-Rajhi ends 1.4 percent lower. The index slips 1.55 percent to 9,581.34 points. Shares of Aldar Properties fall more than 3.45 percent and Abu Dhabi National Energy Co closes 3.65 percent, pushing the index down 0.77 percent to 4,960.01 points. In Dubai, the index closes 0.09 percent lower at 5,454.32 points as Emirates NBD inches down 0.42 percent. Kuwait’s index falls for the first time in eight days, snapping a record-breaking rally driven by banking shares. Mobile Telecommunications Co (Zain) and Kuwait Finance House lead losses, ending 1.22 percent and 2.05 percent down respectively. The index ended 0.36 percent down 15,598.7 points.

 

Oman’s main benchmark falls 0.32 percent to 11,512.62 points with bank Muscat and National Bank of Oman end 0.76 percent and 1.42 percent down respectively. Gulf Finance House weighs on Bahrain, falling 1.9 percent. The index ends 0.32 percent down at 2,841.87 points. Lebanon’s BLOM stock index inches down 0.47 percent to 2,015.38 points. Solidere’s A share slips 0.83 percent to $35.69 and its B share eases 0.16 percent to $35.66. Dubai Islamic Bank and Dubai Financial Market (DFM) lift the main index in early trading, while Qatar’s main index edges lower, led by Qatar Gas Transport Co (Nakilat). Dubai Islamic and DFM rise 1.36 percent and 1.95 percent respectively, driving the index up 0.48 percent to 5,485.20 points.

 

Qatar’s benchmark declines 0.17 percent to 12,115.89 points, led in Nakilat and Qatar Islamic Bank, which ease 0.99 percent and 0.74 percent respectively. Aldar Properties and Emirates Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat) drop 3.07 percent and 0.5 percent respectively, dragging the benchmark down 0.66 percent to 4,965.22 points. Kuwait Finance House and National Bank of Kuwait decline 2.05 percent and 1.05 percent respectively, pushing the benchmark down 0.46 percent to 15,587.80 points. In Oman, Bank Muscat and Renaissance Services Co edge down 1.14 percent and 1.26 percent, pulling the measure down 0.19 percent to 11,527.84 points.

 

Egypt

Egypt’s indexes fell on Wednesday as banking shares dropped after the government cancelled the sale of the third-largest state bank, saying bids were too low. Egypt on Wednesday rejected a National Bank of Greece bid for Banque du Cairo that banking sources said valued the Egyptian lender at $2.025 billion. Banque du Caire’s chairman said the bid did not reach the minimum price set by an evaluating committee. Egypt’s benchmark CASE 30 fell 1.6 percent to 10,147.83 points, the Hermes index lost 1.7 percent to 88,729.87 points, and the broader CIBC index shed 3.8 percent to 537.37 points.

Banking shares led declines. Shares of Commercial International Bank, the country’s largest listed lender, fell 5.4 percent to 82 pounds ($15.32), while shares in Piraeus Bank Egypt plunged 26.8 percent to 40 pounds, the day’s highest percentage drop. Credit Agricole’s shares lost 7.8 percent to 19.19 pounds, BLOM Bank Egypt lost 6 percent to 30 pounds, and National Societe Generale Bank fell 2.4 percent to 38.50 pounds. “Retail investors are reacting to the cancellation of the auction,” says Mohamed Tawfiq, trader at Delta Rasmala Securities. Bucking the trend, investment and brokerage company Pioneers Holding saw its shares rise on their third day of trading, gaining 12.4 percent to 12.67 pounds as the day’s most heavily traded shares by value.

 

 

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