Electronic boards displaying stock information are seen as investors look on at the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (file). Abu Dhabi’s bourse lost 0.7% yesterday and Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) tumbled 4.3% after swinging to a net loss of 421mn dirhams ($114.7mn) in the second quarter.

Reuters/Dubai


Most Middle East stock markets edged down yesterday as a brief rebound in oil prices failed to improve investor sentiment and a series of disappointing earnings announcements dragged down bourses in the UAE.
The Qatar Stocks Exchange yesterday rose 0.7% with most blue chips positive. Heavyweight petrochemicals and steel conglomerate Industries Qatar added 0.4%.
Saudi Arabia’s main index slipped 0.3%, with most stocks giving up early gains and sliding into negative territory.
The kingdom’s biggest listed foodmaker, Savola Group, edged down 2.6% and National Commercial Bank, the largest Saudi Arabian lender, lost 0.6%.
Al Ahsa Development dropped 2.6% after saying it had been hit with a back tax claim of 82.8mn riyals ($22.1mn), which plans to appeal.
Dubai’s index fell 0.9% and Emaar Properties, the emirate’s largest listed developer, lost 1.8%, becoming the main drag on the benchmark.
Islamic mortgage lender Amlak Finance, in which Emaar is the biggest shareholder, also fell 1.8% after it reported an 87% drop in second-quarter net profit.
Abu Dhabi’s bourse lost 0.7% and Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) tumbled 4.3% after swinging to a net loss of 421mn dirhams ($114.7mn) in the second quarter.
Investment firm Waha Capital fell 2.4%, having posted an 85% drop in quarterly profit due to a large one-off gain a year earlier.
“I think that so far markets have been very resilient to the fall of oil prices,” said Sebastien Henin, head of asset management at The National Investors in Abu Dhabi, adding that this has left room for further correction.
“I expect the market to be weak in the coming weeks.”
Egypt’s bourse edged down 0.4% with most stocks declining. Property developer Amer Group dropped 2.0% after posting a 98% drop in second-quarter profit.
But its competitor Palm Hills added 0.8%, having reported a four-fold increase in second-quarter earnings.
Elsewhere in the Gulf, Kuwait’s index rose 0.3% to 6,301 points; Oman’s index slipped 0.03% to 6,319 points, while Bahrain’s index inched down 0.09% to 1,335 points.

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