Most Gulf stock markets fell yesterday with Saudi Arabia sliding for a fifth straight day, led by banks, but UAE bourses were firm.
Egypt sank as blue chip Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding reported a loss.
The Saudi index, which on Wednesday fell below minor technical support on the April low of 6,066 points, sank 0.9% yesterday to a six-month closing low of 5,977 points.
Turnover was thin; this week’s volume was the lowest in 2016. That is partly because summer holidays have kept retail investors away.
Investors are also worried about the impact on corporate earnings of Saudi Arabia’s economic slowdown due to low oil prices.
“Liquidity is very poor. To complete relatively small sell orders, traders are being forced to push prices lower.
And because of weak sentiment, buyers are not being attracted despite the lower prices,” Akber Khan, senior director for asset management at Qatar’s Al Rayan Investment, said of the Saudi market.
Retail investors were also concerned by tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, he added. Al Rajhi Bank slid 2.3%.
Investors are fretting about the impact of a severe slump in the Saudi construction sector on the quality of bank loans.
Cement shares, exposed to the construction industry, were also weak with Yamamah Cement dropping 3.8%.
After early drops, markets in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi closed higher; the UAE is widely seen as more resilient to low oil prices than Saudi Arabia because of its diversified economy and Abu Dhabi’s huge financial reserves.
Dubai’s index closed 0.3% higher as GFH Financial, the most heavily traded stock and a speculative favourite of local retail investors, surged 3.0%. Emirates NBD lost 0.6%.
Sources told Reuters on Wednesday that Emirates Islamic, the Shariah-compliant arm of ENBD, had laid off more than 100 people as part of cost-cutting to adjust to a cooler economy.
Abu Dhabi’s index edged up 0.2% as blue chip Aldar Properties added 1.5%.
In Egypt, the index fell 1.1% as Orascom Telecom, the most heavily traded stock, dropped 1.7%. It reported a net loss of 3.635mn Egyptian pounds ($409,000) for the first half of this year, though revenues rose to 213.285mn pounds from 129.316mn pounds a year ago.
Elsewhere in the Gulf, Kuwait’s index edged down 0.1% to 5,429 points; Oman’s index dropped 0.5% to 5,823 points, while Bahrain’s index fell 0.6% to 1,146 points.
A trader monitors stock information at the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) in Riyadh. The Saudi index, which on Wednesday fell below minor technical support on the April low of 6,066 points, dropped 0.9% yesterday to a six-month closing low of 5,977 points.
