Egypt’s largest bank helped carry the stock market higher yesterday after it posted strong quarterly earnings, while weak results from blue chips weighed on some Gulf bourses.
The Cairo index rose 1.5% to 8,031 points, climbing above major technical resistance on the April peak of 7,944 points.
The market euphoria seen on Wednesday, when the index jumped 5.0% on news that Cairo was close to obtaining an International Monetary Fund loan of $21bn, cooled as trading volume fell to less than half of the previous day’s level.
Seventy percent of traded shares dropped yesterday.
Allen Sandeep, head of research at Cairo-based Naeem Brokerage, said clarity on terms of the IMF loan would be needed before any extended stock market rally could take hold.
“The terms of the loan will likely include fiscal reforms such as subsidy cuts, although I expect those will come in phases over multiple years,” he said. “But the loan, once signed, is a vote of confidence which will serve to help support the economy in the near term.”
Commercial International Bank soared 6.6% after it posted a 28% year-on-year jump in second-quarter net profit to 1.46bn pounds ($164mn), with revenues up 20%. Meanwhile, Riyadh’s index dropped 1.5% to 6,336 points, a 3-1/2-month closing low, as Saudi Basic Industries, the country’s top petrochemical firm, fell 3.8% after it posted lower second-quarter profits.
Sabic reported a 23.2% drop in second-quarter net profit to 4.74bn riyals ($1.26bn) because of lower selling prices for its products.
The result beat the 3.92bn riyal average estimate of analysts polled by Reuters.
But Sabic, whose shares had risen in the past week on hopes for a positive earnings surprise, also said it would cut its dividend to 2 riyals per share for the first half of 2016 from 2.5 riyals a year ago.
Telecommunications operator Zain Saudi plunged its 10% daily limit after it reported its quarterly net loss widened to 329mn riyals.
Analysts had on average forecast a 222.1mn riyal loss.
The largest food group in the kingdom, Savola, sank 3.2% after it reported a 43.2% fall in second-quarter net profit and cut its dividend, citing higher operating expenses and financial charges.
UAE In Abu Dhabi, the index erased early gains to edge down 0.1%, as National Bank of Abu Dhabi fell 1.6% while First Gulf Bank was flat.
Both banks, which are expected to merge early next year, reported second-quarter profit drops on higher loan provisions but the results were broadly in line with expectations.
Dubai’s index added 0.3% as courier firm Aramex climbed 3.6% to Dh4.00 after it reported a 36% rise in second-quarter net profit, beating analysts’ estimates.
The Dubai exchange said a firm named Jaona Investment bought 99mn Aramex shares at Dh4.40 each in a special trading session before the opening yesterday, giving it 6.55% ownership.
The seller was not identified and Jaona could not be reached for comment.
Exchange data showed there was no change in the ownership of Aramex’s biggest shareholder Levant Logistics Holding, which is 9.9%. Emaar Malls, a subsidiary of Emaar Properties, lost 1.4%. The Dubai Mall operator reported an 11.2% rise in quarterly net profit.
Elsewhere in the Gulf, the Kuwait index edged down 0.02% to 5,461 points, the Oman index added 0.6% to 5,854 points and the Bahrain index rose 0.2% to 1,160 points.




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