JEDDAH: Gulf Arab bourses ended higher yesterday, helped by strong third-quarter profit results, with Emaar Properties leading Dubai and Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) lifting Saudi Arabia.
Trading, however, was quiet as investors remained cautious while markets recouped some of their sharp losses since the start of the month.
The Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) gained 51.39 points to close at 6,397.14. The index is still down 42.05 percent so far this year.
Etihad Etisalat shares jumped 5.61 percent to SR32 as it beat forecasts with a 73.3 percent rise in net profit to SR539 million. The company made SR311 million profit in the third quarter of 2007, it said in a statement on the Saudi bourse website. The petrochemical industries index was down as shares of Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC), Saudi Arabia Fertilizers Co. and Alujain Corp. declined yesterday.
Saudi International Petrochemical Co. (Sipchem) shares increased 1.27 percent to SR23.80 yesterday as the Kuwait-based Global Investment House (Global) initiated its coverage of Sipchem with a “buy” recommendation as it offers a potential upside of 56.4 percent.
Sipchem went public following an initial public offering (IPO) and got listed on Tadawul in November 2006. The company, after approval from Capital Market Authority (CMA), issued 45 million shares at SR55 per share. By the end of 2006, a major portion of 47.2 percent of the company’s shares were held by the general public.
Out of 125 stocks traded, shares of 95 companies increased while 22 stocks were in the red. Over SR8 billion worth of shares changed hands yesterday.
The Dubai Financial Market Index closed up 1.2 percent on 3.351.37 points. The other UAE market, the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, finished up 3.75 percent at 3,652.87 points.
Doha Securities Market gained 3.15 percent to close above the 8,000-point mark, while the small Muscat Securities added 1.1 percent.
Kuwait’s Stock Exchange, the second largest in the Arab world, reversed course and closed in positive territory following a drop in initial trade.
The KSE Index finished up 1.7 percent at 11,041.40 points after a recovery by the investment sector which was responsible for pulling the market down on Monday and yesterday morning.
It was the first increase by KSE following eight sessions of decline. The small Bahrain Stock Exchange also closed up just 0.16 points.
Turnover up 11%
In yesterday’s trading session, the 30-share BMG Saudi Index maintained its upward trend for the second successive trading session, going up by 0.2 percent to reach at 344.57 points. The total market turnover also went up by 11 percent to SR4.3 billion ($1.1 billion) versus SR3.9 billion ($1 billion) registered in Monday’s trading session.
The best performer index was the services sector, ascending by 3.7 percent, whereas the telecommunications sector improved by 1.1 percent and the banking sector stepped up by 0.2 percent. The industrial sector declined by 0.6 percent and was followed by the insurance sector, which plunged by 7.2 percent, to come out as the worst performer.
Eighteen shares were gainers, whilst seven incurred losses and five stood still.
— With input from agencies
