Gulf markets remained in a sideways trend, with little to
draw in buyers amid uncertainty over the world economy and largely uninspiring
results from regional corporates.
KFH climbed 2 percent. The Islamic lender reported a 22
percent rise in second-quarter profit, beating a forecast from EFG-Hermes by 25
percent.
“People liked KFH results and other banks also reported good
earnings, so there’s positive sentiment for this sector,” said a Kuwait trader
who asked not to be named. “We also expect telecoms to post good results, but
there’s oversupply in real estate and negative sentiment around investment
companies.”
Global Investment House climbed 6.6 percent, taking its
gains to 27 percent since it won a multi-million dollar court case this week
against Abu Dhabi-listed National Bank of Umm Al Qaiwain, although the lender
said it would appeal.
Kuwait’s index climbed 0.2 percent as trading topped 300
million shares for a third day.
“Volumes indicate that sovereign funds are back in the
market to support stocks,” said the trader.
Last week, a Kuwaiti minister was quoted in a local
newspaper as saying the government was ready to inject liquidity into the
country’s bourse.
Emaar Properties ended flat as Dubai’s index eased from
Wednesday’s three-week high. After market hours, Emaar reported a
second-quarter net profit of 802 million dirhams, 17 percent below consensus.
“The largest surprise came in Emaar’s top line, where most
analysts including myself had booked in more revenues,” said Chet Riley, Nomura
property analyst.
Revenues missed estimates because of a slower-than-expected
handover of units in Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower, although these
revenues would now be booked in the rest of 2010, Riley added.
Dubai’s index fell 0.2 percent to 1,529 points.
“The market gave an upward signal at 1,477 and can go up to
1,570 or 1,600, but it’s still a trading market, not one to buy and hold —
investors are still fragile,” added NABD’s Haddad.
In Oman, Raysut Cement fell 3.6 percent to a fresh 13-month
low after saying it had cut its cement selling prices.
