Mideast stocks stall as oil stays below $50, earnings lift some shares

Shares of companies that beat quarterly earnings estimates outperformed Tuesday as Gulf stock markets were held in check by crude oil trading below $50 a barrel for a third session.

Shares of Saudi Arabian electronics and bookstore retailer Jarir were up 5.8 percent to 141.0 riyals after it reported a 26.5 percent rise in first quarter net profit, beating analysts’ forecasts.

The company’s board also recommended distributing 2.2 riyals per share for the period, higher than the 1.75 riyals it paid out in the prior year period.

Jarir’s top line rose by 20.3 percent in the period helped by rising sales of smartphones and sales of goods to schools.

Analysts at Riyadh-based Alrajhi Capital said revenue growth was probably driven by new store openings after Jarir opened a record seven retail stores in the last four quarters. Alrajhi Capital said like-for-like SALES? growth at existing stores came in better than estimated.

The Saudi index, however, fell 0.2 percent as a little over half of the traded shares declined.

In Dubai, the index was up 0.2 percent as shares of Dubai Financial Market, the only listed stock exchange in the Gulf, rose 1.7 percent after its first quarter net profit jumped by almost a fifth.

In neighbouring Abu Dhabi, the index was flat, but shares of the largest listed developer Aldar Properties rose 1.8 percent after its net profit attributable to shareholders for January to March came in at the upper end of analysts’ estimates, although slightly lower than a year earlier.

Source: Reuters