Gulf flat to lower in early trade, Saudi banks hold up

DUBAI- 17 October 2017: Most Gulf stock markets were flat to lower in early trade on Tuesday with Saudi Arabia’s banking and insurance sectors holding up after their rebound the previous day.

The main Saudi index was flat after the first hour. Most Saudi banks edged up though Alinma Bank, which had jumped 2.3 percent in heavy trade on Monday after it reported better-than-expected earnings, fell back 0.2 percent.

Malath Insurance surged 9.9 percent after the trading period for its rights issue ended on Monday. Another insurer, Metlife AIG ANB, jumped 4.5 percent.

Petrochemical stocks were generally weak although Brent oil prices rose as high as $58.47 a barrel on Monday, following tensions between Baghdad and the local government in Kurdistan.

Dubai’s index edged down 0.3 percent as Emaar Properties fell 0.6 percent.

Abu Dhabi lost 0.4 percent as Dana Gas fell a further 1.3 percent. It has been sliding since a London court adjourned hearings last week on its attempt to avoid redeeming $700 million of maturing sukuk.

In Qatar, Masraf al Rayan edged up 0.3 percent after reporting a 6.5 percent increase in third-quarter net profit to 542 million riyals ($148.9 million), which beat EFG Hermes’ estimates of 502 million riyals and QNB Financial Services’ forecast of 508 million riyals.

But Qatar’s index lost 0.7 percent as Qatar National Bank fell 0.7 percent, ending a five-day winning streak after it reported solid third-quarter earnings last week.