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| Kuwait’s index fell 0.9% yesterday to its lowest level since September 25 |
Kuwait’s bourse dropped to a three-week low yesterday after a protest rally against possible changes to the country’s election law that prompted an investor sell-off, while most other Gulf markets closed higher.
Kuwait’s index fell 0.9% to its lowest level since September 25.
At least five people were arrested and several were hurt in skirmishes at a rally late on Monday. “All this negative sentiment is spilling over to the market. There is a lot of retail selling and high net worth individuals are sitting out,” said a Kuwait-based trader who asked not to be identified. “The market just started to gain some momentum and something like this (protests) is, turns it all around. We’re likely to see a couple more days of this selling.”
Stocks were lower across sectors. Large-caps, National Bank of Kuwait slipped 1% and telecom Zain declined 1.4%.
In Saudi Arabia, troubled telecom operator Zain Saudi fell 4.4% to 8.7 riyals, nearing Saturday’s record low of 8.3 riyals after the firm posted a widening third-quarter net loss.
The firm also said it was in advanced talks with banks to refinance a 9bn-riyals Shariah-compliant loan and expects to sign the new deal in the fourth quarter.
“Although we believe that the financial outlook for Zain KSA has improved after its balance sheet restructuring (mainly through lower financing charges), its operational outlook has deteriorated,” NCB Capital said in a research note. “Zain faces a difficult road towards recording net profits,” it added.
Shares in dairy and food producer Almarai Co rose 2.2% at 69.75 riyals, having surged to 71.50 riyals intra-day in heavy trading.
The firm posted a 4.7% rise in quarterly net profit on Monday but fell short of analysts’ forecasts. “Surprisingly, Almarai’s share price has been resilient - part of this is because no matter what happens to the economy, people will still consume food products,” said Asim Bukhtiar, head of research at Riyad Capital.
The food and agriculture sector’s index gained 1.4% and insurance stocks climbed 1.6%.
Investors largely shun large-cap stocks of banks and petrochemicals after disappointing earnings.
Samba Financial Group declined 0.9%, Saudi Arabian Fertilisers slipped 0.8%, while Saudi Basic Industries Corp (Sabic) added 0.6%.
The kingdom’s index rose 0.4%, up for a second session since Sunday’s 11-week low.
“You’re seeing a bit of recovery in the market now that most of the bad news is out. People are still waiting for Sabic’s numbers and digesting what the numbers mean for Q4,” Bukhtiar said.
In the UAE, Dubai’s index rallied to a 24-week closing high and the bourse’s own stock also gained, supported by upbeat sentiment in anticipation of quarterly earnings.
The emirate’s index climbed 0.6% to its highest close since April 26. Shares in Dubai Financial Market, the Gulf’s only listed-exchange, rose 0.9%.
Trading volumes in the third quarter rose to 5.7bn shares from 3.5bn in the same period a year earlier, an indicator of earnings growth for the exchange.
Real estate and related stocks rose with Emaar Properties up 0.5%, mortgage lender Tamweel gaining 2.2% and engineering firm Drake & Scull climbing 0.1%.
Abu Dhabi’s measure gained 0.1% to 2,647 points.
Elsewhere in the Gulf, Oman’s index gained 0.6% to 5,697 points, while Bahrain’s measure ended flat at 1,067 points.
Egypt’s gauge ticked up 0.05% to 5,715 points.