Mideast Stocks: Major Gulf bourses gain, Saudi Aramco's Q2 profit surges

Sa Sa International Holdings

08/08/2021 14:22

By Ateeq Shariff
    Aug 8 (Reuters) - Major stock markets in the Gulf ended
higher on Sunday, helped by a slew of corporate earnings, with
the Abu Dhabi index closing at a new record high.
    Saudi Arabia's benchmark index  .TASI  edged up 0.1%, with
Al Rajhi Bank  1120.SE  gaining 0.7% and Dr Sulaiman Al-Habib
Medical Services  4013.SE  advancing over 2% following an
increase in quarterly net profit.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nFWN2PF003
    The healthcare firm also proposed a cash dividend of 0.70
riyal per share for the second quarter.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nFWN2PD23G    
    However, the index's gains were capped by losses at Saudi
Telecom Company  7010.SE  and the kingdom's biggest lender Saudi
National Bank  1180.SE , which were down 1.5% and 1%,
respectively.
    The two companies reported a higher second-quarter net
profit, however, they saw a decrease sequentially in earnings.
    Elsewhere, oil behemoth Saudi Aramco  2222.SE  added 0.3%.
    Aramco reported a near four-fold rise in second-quarter net
profit on Sunday, beating expectations and boosted by higher oil
prices and a recovery in oil demand.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2PF02T
    Aramco's net profit rose to 95.47 billion riyals ($25.46
billion) for the quarter to June 30 from 24.62 billion riyals a
year earlier.
    Dubai's main share index  .DFMGI  added 0.1%, supported by a
1.9% gain in logistic firm Aramex  ARMX.DU , reversing early
losses.
    On Thursday, the courier firm said quarterly net profit fell
31% due to the disruptive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on
global supply chains.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2PC090
    The company said the business continued to invest in digital
transformation to improve efficiencies and adapt to consumer and
industry trends.
    In Abu Dhabi, the index  .ADI  advanced 1.1%, boosted by a
3.4% jump in conglomerate International Holding  IHC.AD  and a
0.6% increase in First Abu Dhabi Bank  FAB.AD .
    The Qatari benchmark  .QSI  gained 0.4%, with Qatar National
Bank  QNBK.QA , the Gulf's largest lender, rising 0.9%.
    Among other gainers, Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding Co
 MPHC.QA  climbed 2%, after reporting a net profit of 909.4
million riyals ($248.61 million), up from 135.1 million riyals a
year earlier.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nFWN2PC11O
    Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index  .EGX30  inched up
0.1%, led by a 0.3% gain in top lender Commercial International
Bank  COMI.CA .
    Egypt's central bank kept its key interest rates unchanged
at its monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting on Thursday, the
bank said in a statement.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2PC20C
    
    ** Kuwait was closed for a public holiday.
  
 SAUDI ARABIA   .TASI  up 0.1% to 11,215
 ABU DHABI      .ADI  gained 1.1% to 7,501
 DUBAI          .DFMGI  added 0.1% to 2,823
 QATAR          .QSI  rose 0.4% to 10,954
 EGYPT          .EGX30  up 0.1% to 10,739
 BAHRAIN        .BAX  eased 0.2% to 1,611
 OMAN           .MSX30  rose 0.1% to 4,007
 
($1 = 3.7501 riyals)
($1 = 3.6580 Qatar riyals)

 (Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru; editing by David
Evans)
 ((AteeqUr.Shariff@thomsonreuters.com; +918061822788;))