Gulf stocks may stay sluggish, Saudi investment boost Egypt’s Talaat Moustafa shares

Gulf stock markets may stay sluggish during Tuesday’s trade in the absence of fresh news or positive cues from global markets, while Egypt’s bourse may outperform for a third day, buoyed by news of Saudi Arabian investment plans.

Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal will invest about $800 million to expand the Four Seasons resort in Sharm el-Sheikh, in partnership with Talaat Moustafa, Egypt’s Investment Minister Sahar Nasr said on Monday. The news could buoy one of the Egyptian market’s most active stocks.

The global environment is neutral, however, with Asian equities and oil prices little changed.

Moody’s Investors Service changed the outlook on Qatar’s banking system to negative from stable, citing weakening operating conditions and continued funding pressures, but this came as no surprise given Qatar’s diplomatic crisis, and Moody’s noted that Qatari banks’ capitalisation would remain strong.

In Saudi Arabia, Al Tayyar reported that second-quarter net profit fell to 212 million riyals ($56.5 million)from 297 million riyals a year ago, missing forecasts of 229 million riyals and 237.5 million riyals by NCB Capital and Aljazira Capital.

Najran Cement also reported weak earnings, losing 4.2 million riyals versus a year-earlier profit of 33.9 million riyals.

In Dubai, however, budget carrier Air Arabia reported a 19.2 percent rise in second-quarter net profit to 150.7 million dirhams ($41.03 million), beating estimates by EFG Hermes and SICO Bahrain, which had forecast 95.9 million dirhams and 96.3 million dirhams.

Source: Reuters