The Tadauwl All-Share Index (TASI) fell 6,452.49 points on Tuesday after gaining 21.3 points; up 0.33 percent. The sector activity for the day was mostly negative with 5 gaining sectors against 10 losing sectors. The gaining sectors ranged from 0.44 percent by the Banks & Financial Services sector to 1.43 percent by the Real Estate Development sector. On the other hand the losing sectors for the day ranged from -0.15 by the Agriculture & Food Industries sector to -0.81 percent by the Media and Publishing sector. The overall market breadth for the day was positive with 39 advancers against 79 decliners giving it an AD ratio of 0.49. The liquidity for the day reached SR3.71 billion, the Financial Transaction House said in its daily market commentary.
Aldar ended 3.2 percent higher, having slumped to a 12-week low in early trade.
“Many investors had priced in some pretty negative results, but they were considerably worse than consensus, so there was always going to be a negative knee-jerk reaction,” said Julian Bruce, EFG-Hermes director of institutional equity sales.
“There have been expectations for some time that Aldar would receive government support in some form and throughout the session there were rumors of a cash injection or debt relief/restructure, which prompted some aggressive buying, but at the moment it is all just speculation, with no comment form Aldar or the government.”
Egypt’s index fell 0.2 percent to 6,829 points. Orascom Telecom fell 3 percent after saying it may may seek international arbitration to end a dispute with Algeria over its unit Djezzy.
Kuwait’s Zain ended flat at a 14-month high of 1.48 dinars, recouping early losses sparked by a shareholder, Al Fawares Holding, threatening to sue the telecoms operator over Etisalat’s deal to buy a 46 percent stake.
“This company would be correct to argue there should be a level playing field for all Zain shareholders, but Etisalat’s offer is generous and it would be foolish to jeopardize it, with the majority of shareholders likely to participate in the sale,” added Al Mal’s Ellam.
Etisalat has offered to pay 1.7 dinars per share in a deal led by major Zain shareholder Kharafi, but this sale will not be on a pro rata basis.
Industries Qatar climbed 1 percent as Qatar’s index hit a two-year high.
“Qatar is outperforming the region, which is to be expected after reporting better Q3 earnings — Qatar offers lower risk and higher returns,” said Robert Pramberger, acting head of asset management at Doha company The First Investor.
