Mideast Stocks: Aramco fuels Saudi market's gains; Qatar eases

Gulf Keystone Petroleum

07/08/2023 09:38

Aug 7 (Reuters) - Most major stock markets in the Gulf
rose in early trade on Monday with the Saudi index on course to
snap seven sessions of losses led by a rise in oil giant Saudi
Aramco  2222.SE .
    Saudi Arabia's benchmark index  .TASI  advanced 0.6%, on
track to end a seven-day losing streak, led by a 1.4% gain in
Saudi Aramco  2222.SE .
    Aramco reported net profit of 112.81 billion riyals ($30.07
billion) for the second-quarter, down from 181.64 billion riyals
a year earlier, it said in a statement, beating a
company-provided median estimate from 15 analysts of $29.8
billion.
    The group declared a base dividend of just over $19.51
billion for the second quarter, roughly in line with its payout
for the first quarter.
    It also said it will begin paying performance-linked
dividends for six quarters, starting with a $9.87 billion payout
in the third quarter.
    Elsewhere, Al Etihad Cooperative Insurance  8170.SE 
advanced 10%, to become the top gainer on the index, after it
swung to quarterly profit.
    The Abu Dhabi index  .FTFADGI  edged 0.2% higher, with the
country's biggest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank  FAB.AD  rising
0.8%.
    ADNOC Gas  ADNOCGAS.AD  retreated 1.4%, after the energy
firm reported on Friday a 24% slide in second-quarter revenue.
    Dubai's main share index  .DFMGI  added 0.1%, with Mashreq
Bank  MASB.DU  gaining 6.2%.
    Oil prices - a key catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets
- edged down but were still near their highest levels since
mid-April after top producers Saudi Arabia and Russia pledged to
keep supplies down for another month to tighten global markets
further and support prices.
    In Qatar, the index  .QSI  eased 0.1% in choppy trade,
weighed down by a 1.4% fall in petrochemical maker Industries
Qatar  IQCD.QA .
 ($1 = 3.7513 riyals)

 (Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru, Editing by William
Maclean)
 ((AteeqUr.Shariff@thomsonreuters.com; +918061822788;))