JEDDAH: The insurance sector in the Saudi stock market dropped 1.6 percent Thursday and was the main drag on Tadawul All-Share Index, which fell 0.4 percent.
Dar Al-Arkan rose 2.6 percent in volatile trade. It has attracted strong interest since it announced last week that it was in talks with the government to build housing units under Saudi Arabia’s economic reform program.
Saudi Electricity Co, which has surged this week on news of a novel financing method for two planned solar power plants, gained a further 2.2 percent, its fifth session of gains.
National Gas and Industrialization jumped 6.8 percent after the company announced it would distribute an SR0.3 per share cash dividend for second quarter of 2016.
But Yanbu National Petrochemical dropped 4.4 percent as it went ex-dividend.
Other petrochemical shares were also weak, with the sector’s sub-index dropping 0.8 percent as Brent oil futures retreated back toward $48 a barrel.
Gulf stock markets were mostly soft after international bourses and oil markets slipped, but Kuwait’s market was supported by renewed talks on the sale of a stake in a top food company.
Kuwait Food Co. (Americana), majority-held by the Al-Kharafi family, is back in talks to sell a majority stake to a group of Gulf investors just days after negotiations collapsed over valuation issues, sources told Reuters on Wednesday.
Americana declined to comment and its shares were suspended from trade on Thursday, but stocks rose in other companies in which the Kharafis own major stakes.
National Investment Co. added 2.2 percent and Zain rose 1.6 percent. Kuwait’s main stock index edged up 0.1 percent.
In Egypt, the main index recovered from early losses to close 0.1 percent higher with gainers outnumbering losers 21 to five.
The index had been falling since the start of the week, partly because the central bank was due to meet later on Thursday to decide whether to hike interest rates. A Reuters poll found economists roughly evenly split on whether there would be a hike at the meeting.
Bryan Plamondon, director of IHS Global Insight, said in a note this week that he expected 50 basis points of tightening this week and further tightening during the second half of 2016 in order to keep inflation in check.
“The anticipated subsidy cuts and tax increases, combined with an expectation of further currency devaluation/depreciation, will keep inflation high during the next 12 months.”
Elsewhere, Dubai’s index pulled back 0.5 percent; the index has now fallen 7.7 percent from its late April peak, bringing its forward price to earnings ratio to about 8.2 times, the lowest in the Gulf, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Builder Arabtec, the most traded stock, fell 0.7 percent and the Dubai Islamic Bank lost 1.2 percent.
Blue chips weighed on Abu Dhabi’s index, which fell 0.4 percent with Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank declining 0.5 percent.
But large-cap shares helped pull Qatar’s main index up 0.2 percent. Industries Qatar jumped 2.0 percent.
Dar Al-Arkan rose 2.6 percent in volatile trade. It has attracted strong interest since it announced last week that it was in talks with the government to build housing units under Saudi Arabia’s economic reform program.
Saudi Electricity Co, which has surged this week on news of a novel financing method for two planned solar power plants, gained a further 2.2 percent, its fifth session of gains.
National Gas and Industrialization jumped 6.8 percent after the company announced it would distribute an SR0.3 per share cash dividend for second quarter of 2016.
But Yanbu National Petrochemical dropped 4.4 percent as it went ex-dividend.
Other petrochemical shares were also weak, with the sector’s sub-index dropping 0.8 percent as Brent oil futures retreated back toward $48 a barrel.
Gulf stock markets were mostly soft after international bourses and oil markets slipped, but Kuwait’s market was supported by renewed talks on the sale of a stake in a top food company.
Kuwait Food Co. (Americana), majority-held by the Al-Kharafi family, is back in talks to sell a majority stake to a group of Gulf investors just days after negotiations collapsed over valuation issues, sources told Reuters on Wednesday.
Americana declined to comment and its shares were suspended from trade on Thursday, but stocks rose in other companies in which the Kharafis own major stakes.
National Investment Co. added 2.2 percent and Zain rose 1.6 percent. Kuwait’s main stock index edged up 0.1 percent.
In Egypt, the main index recovered from early losses to close 0.1 percent higher with gainers outnumbering losers 21 to five.
The index had been falling since the start of the week, partly because the central bank was due to meet later on Thursday to decide whether to hike interest rates. A Reuters poll found economists roughly evenly split on whether there would be a hike at the meeting.
Bryan Plamondon, director of IHS Global Insight, said in a note this week that he expected 50 basis points of tightening this week and further tightening during the second half of 2016 in order to keep inflation in check.
“The anticipated subsidy cuts and tax increases, combined with an expectation of further currency devaluation/depreciation, will keep inflation high during the next 12 months.”
Elsewhere, Dubai’s index pulled back 0.5 percent; the index has now fallen 7.7 percent from its late April peak, bringing its forward price to earnings ratio to about 8.2 times, the lowest in the Gulf, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Builder Arabtec, the most traded stock, fell 0.7 percent and the Dubai Islamic Bank lost 1.2 percent.
Blue chips weighed on Abu Dhabi’s index, which fell 0.4 percent with Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank declining 0.5 percent.
But large-cap shares helped pull Qatar’s main index up 0.2 percent. Industries Qatar jumped 2.0 percent.
