ADCB, Arabtec, Doha Bank, Etisalat, SECO: Gulf Equity Preview

20/07/2010 00:00 AST

The following companies may rise or fall in Gulf Arab markets. Stock symbols are in parentheses and prices are from the last close.

Dubai’s DFM General Index gained 0.7 percent to 1,518.28. Qatar’s QE Index and Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index each rose 0.2 percent.

Aabar Investments PJSC (AABAR UH): The Abu Dhabi-based company said its shares will cease to trade Aug. 5 as it seeks to complete the delisting of shares. The shares surged 9.6 percent to 1.72 dirhams.

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC (ADCB UH): Abu Dhabi’s second-biggest bank by assets told a U.K. judge it’s owed about $32 million by a unit of Saudi Arabia’s Saad Group for defaulting on a foreign-currency swap agreement. The shares were unchanged at 1.7 dirhams.

Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait (ABK KK): The company said second- quarter profit more than doubled to 10.95 million dinars ($38 million) from 5.05 million dinars in the year-ago period. The shares slid 3.9 percent to 500 fils.

Arabtec Holding Co (ARTC UH): The United Arab Emirates’ biggest builder was raised to “overweight” from “neutral” with a price estimate of 2.15 dirhams at Taib Bank. The shares gained 1.1 percent to 1.81 dirhams.

Doha Bank QSC (DHBK QD): Qatar’s third-biggest bank by revenue posted a less than expected drop in second-quarter profit after the country’s sovereign wealth fund declined to take dividends. Net income fell 5.4 percent to 299.7 million riyals ($82.4 million). That beat the mean estimate of 235.7 million riyals by three analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The shares lost 0.7 percent to 44.1 riyals.

Emirates Telecommunications Corp. (ETISALAT UH): The U.A.E.’s biggest phone company plans to pay an interim dividend of 25 fils share based on the first-half results. The shares declined 0.5 percent to 10.35 dirhams.

Global Investment House KSCC (GLOBAL KK): The Kuwait-based bank said a Dubai court ordered National Bank of Umm Al-Qaiwain PSC to return $250 million to Global which it placed as deposit with the bank in August 2008. The shares retreated 1.9 percent to 51 fils.

Saudi Electricity Co. (SECO AB): The state-controlled power producer said second-quarter profit rose to 1.1 billion riyals from 715 million riyals a year earlier. The shares rose 2.7 percent to 13.35 riyals.

Saudi Real Estate Co. (SRECO AB): The Riyadh-based property developer said second-quarter profit dropped 88 percent as investment values fell. The shares advanced 0.4 percent to 23.2 riyals.

Bloomberg