Saudi shares hit 9-day low; UAE lenders steady

Saudi Arabia’s bourse slumped to a nine-day low yesterday as investors reacted to second-quarter earnings, while UAE banks were steady despite three international lenders withdrawing from debt restructuring talks with Dubai Group. In Saudi Arabia, the benchmark fell 0.7% to its lowest close since July 1. Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden), dropped 3.1%. It reported second-quarter net profit doubled to 128mn riyals ($34.13mn) yesterday but the results fell far short of analysts’ estimates. Banque Saudi Fransi fell 1.8%. It reported a 2% decline in quarterly profit on Monday, missing forecasts due to higher operational costs. “The miss is mainly due to provisioning - the loan growth has been fast and they are being conservative,” said Ali Adou, portfolio manager at The National Investor. “Banks have learned during the crisis to have enough provisioning on the balance sheet in case there are contingent risks.” Zain Saudi dropped 5.1% to a new record low after the telecom operator started a $1.6bn rights issue. The telco, which has yet to make a quarterly profit, has cut its capital to alleviate accumulated losses that topped 10bn riyals at March-end, with the rights issue being partly used to ease some of its debts. Dar Al Arkan tumbled 6.3% in heavy trade. The stock accounted for nearly two-thirds of all shares changing hands on the index. The firm said it will repay a $1bn Islamic bond, or sukuk, at maturity on July 16. UAE markets slipped, with investors unwilling to buy ahead of second-quarter earnings. Dubai Investments Co was the main drag, falling 2.4%. Emirates NBD, Dubai’s largest bank by market value, slipped 0.4%, while Dubai Islamic Bank added 0.5%. Royal Bank of Scotland and two other banks abandoned talks on restructuring Dubai Group’s $10bn debt and threatened legal action, sources told Reuters. “It was quite surprising seeing such a lack of reaction - bids were soft and not different from the pattern over the last week or so,” said Julian Bruce, EFG-Hermes director of institutional equity sales. “The majority of investors who are watching events unfold are quite used to small surprises and are happy to stay on sidelines until further developments.” Emaar Properties shares dipped 0.33%. The developer said it had picked banks to arrange investor meetings in London ahead of a possible new Islamic bond, or sukuk. Dubai’s index fell for a third day, down 0.2%. Abu Dhabi’s measure closed 0.2% lower. In Egypt, Egypt’s main index recouped part of Monday’s sharp declines, rising 0.7%, as investors waited to see if the military leadership will challenge a move by the country’s new president to recall the parliament it dissolved. Parliament met unopposed by the generals yesterday after President Mohamed Mursi recalled the lower house. The speaker said the assembly would seek its own way to implement a top court’s ruling that had declared it void. The index slid 4.2% on Monday. Elsewhere, Kuwait’s index climbed 0.2% to 5,853 points; Oman’s index dipped 0.7% to 5,496 points, while Bahrain’s measure slipped 0.2% to 1,115 points. from gulf times.