JEDDAH: Gulf stock markets were narrowly mixed on Thursday as a series of disappointing corporate earnings reports, especially in the telecommunications sector, offset the positive impact of improving global sentiment.

Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All-Share Index inched down 0.1 percent as blue chip Saudi Telecom (STC) tumbled 4.5 percent.

STC, the Gulf’s biggest telecommunications operator by market value, tumbled 5.6 percent after it posted an 8.7 percent fall in second-quarter profit which it blamed on rising costs.

The firm made a net profit of SR2.56 billion in the quarter. Analysts polled by Reuters had on average forecast SR2.94 billion.

Al-Tayyar Travel Group dropped 2.0 percent after reporting an 8.8 percent rise in second-quarter net profit, even though its earnings were broadly in line with the estimate of analysts at Saudi Fransi Capital.

Another heavyweight stock, Makkah-focused property developer Jabal Omar, rose 1.3 percent after announcing it had been awarded an SR1.56 billion construction contract for one of its projects.

Petrochemicals giant Saudi Basic Industries edged up 0.7 percent in line with oil prices, which ended a long streak of losses on Wednesday and extended gains on Thursday.