Gulf investors in stock markets to digest earnings from Qatar, Oman
Investors in the oil-producing Gulf countries are set to digest corporate earnings from Qatar and Oman on Thursday.
Three major companies Qatar Gas Transport Co, Qatar Electricity and Water and Oman Telecommunications Co released their second-quarter results on Wednesday after market close.
Qatar Gas Transport, one of the world’s largest shippers of liquefied natural gas, posted a 2.8 percent decline in second-quarter at 260.3 million riyals ($71.5 million), according to Reuters calculations.
Qatar Electricity and Water reported a 13.4 percent rise in second-quarter net profit to 443.56 million riyals ($121.8 million), Reuters calculations showed.
Oman Telecommunications reported a 19.9 percent rise in second-quarter profit to 32 million riyals ($83.1 million), according to Reuters calculations.
Gulf investors will also await corporate earnings from the United Arab Emirates after market close, when two Abu Dhabi lenders are anticipated to report second-quarter earnings.
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank and Union National Bank will hold their board meetings on Thursday after market close.
The commercial banks, as in the past, could also announce the results when markets re-open on Sunday.
Market participants are expecting Abu Dhabi banks to register weaker profits, continuing a trend in the first quarter hurt by low oil prices.
But banking stocks in the Gulf mostly rallied on Wednesday after the first slew of earnings results from Qatar and Saudi Arabia’s lenders beat analyst expectations.
“The results from the two banks should be a sign of how the banking sector is doing with some of the recent consolidation efforts taken in the emirate to improve efficiency,” said Mohammed Ali Yasin, managing director at National Bank of Abu Dhabi’s stock brokerage arm.
National Bank of Abu Dhabi and First Gulf Bank won board approval on July 3 for their merger to create a banking heavyweight with $175 billion in assets.
The move has triggered interest in other Abu Dhabi lenders as investors speculate potential targets that may come from an efficiency drive in the emirate.
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank has risen 7 percent in the last one month, while Union National Bank has gained 30 percent.
The results from the two lenders are expected to at least partly alleviate worries from the fallout from Brexit.
But markets have already priced in the impact from Brexit, says Yasin.
“It’s not that the situation is better than where it was a month ago, but it’s better than the fears of where they were before Brexit,” Yasin says. “The banking sector will reveal the results from Brexit, but the third quarter will be stronger evidence than the second.”
Most Asian markets rose ahead of the Bank of England’s policy meeting on Thursday, where analysts are expecting a rate cut of at least 25 basis points to calm markets.
Oil was mostly higher on Wednesday, with Brent crude up 44 cents at $46.70 a barrel at 0250 GMT. U.S. crude CLc1 rose 43 cents to $45.18 a barrel.
Source: Reuters
