Saudi Shares Rebound; Gulf Mkts Higher

Bargain hunters lifted Saudi Arabia’s bourse from an 11-week low on Monday despite lingering earnings concerns, and most other Gulf markets also gained.

Heavyweight Al Rajhi Bank was one of the top gainers, rising 1.5 percent and trimming October’s declines to 3.1 percent. The bank reported a third-quarter net profit decline of 3.5 percent, missing estimates.

The stock witnessed heavy selling pressure in recent sessions, on talks a major shareholder will sell its stake. Analysts say the weak earnings were priced into the stock.

“Rajhi’s declining movement for the last two weeks priced in the results, that’s why we’re not seeing lower price today,” said Faisal Al-Othman, portfolio manager at Riyadh-based Arab National Bank.

Other banks, which also declined recently on earnings that missed estimates, were up. Samba Financial Group climbed 1.8 percent and Banque Saudi Fransi (BSF) gained 0.7 percent.

Telcom operators rally with Saudi Telecom Co and Mobily rose 2.8 and 1.1 percent respectively.

Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) gained 0.3 percent.

Investors concerns lingered on third-quarter earnings from SABIC and telecom operators, which will be key for further direction for the market.

In the United Arab Emirates, Dubai’s bluechips helped lift the measure for a third day in five as investors awaited earnings.

Courier Aramex gained 3.7 percent in late-trade. Emaar Properties climbed 0.6 percent and Dubai Financial Market, the Gulf’s only listed bourse, added 1.9 percent.

The emirate’s index ended 0.6 percent higher, up 13.8 percent since June 3’s four-month low.

“The markets in UAE remain to be in an uptrend and have been resilient to the drops we’ve been in seeing in Saudi,” said Nabil Al Rantisi, managing director at Menacorp in Abu Dhabi.

“We are in a resting mode at the moment as investors are waiting for the Q3 results to be out. If the results beat the expectations the current rally is likely to continue to higher levels,’ he added.

Elsewhere, Qatar’s index climbed 0.4 percent to its highest close since Oct. 3 as earnings boosted sentiment.

Industries Qatar gained 1.7 percent, up for a second session since reporting a 23.7 percent jump in quarterly profit.

“Although petrochemical prices are estimated to have remained lower in 3Q12, we believe prices of fertilizer would have given the required impetus to the growth in net income,” Hettish Karmani, senior financial analyst at Global Investment House said in a note.

Qatar National Bank gained 0.3 percent and Qatar Telecom rose 0.3 percent.

MONDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS

SAUDI ARABIA

* The index rose 0.9 percent to 6,723 points.

DUBAI

* The index gained 0.6 percent to 1,636 points.

ABU DHABI

* The index ticked up 0.08 percent to 2,644 points.

EGYPT

* The measure declined 0.2 percent to 5,712 points.

KUWAIT

* The measure climbed 0.2 percent to 5,997 points.

QATAR

* The benchmark rose 0.4 percent to 8,523 points.

OMAN

* The index gained 0.5 percent to 5,663 points.

BAHRAIN

* The measure slipped 0.3 percent to 1,067 points.

Reuters