Tadawul index slips 1%

19/04/2017 05:32 AST

The Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) slipped 1 percent on Tuesday. Some investors have been worried by the fact that many companies are reporting first-quarter earnings later than usual this year, prompting speculation that they could be preparing to announce negative surprises. However, analysts said they believed the delays were due to Saudi Arabia’s shift to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), now under way. To facilitate the shift, the securities regulator said last year that companies could report interim earnings as long as 30 days after the end of each period, rather than 15 days as previously.

Alawwal Bank fell 3.3 percent after reporting a quarterly profit of SR324 million ($86.4 million), down from SR511.5 million a year earlier. NCB Capital had projected SR376 million and EFG Hermes, SR443 million.

But National Commercial Bank (NCB), the Kingdom’s largest lender, gained 0.8 percent after reporting a 2.7 percent rise in first-quarter net profit to SR2.70 billion; SICO Bahrain had forecast SR2.39 billion.

National Metal Manufacturing and Casting Co. surged 1.8 percent after saying it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Saudi National Automobiles Manufacturing (SNAM) to make automobile parts. It did not give details, but developing an auto industry is a goal of the Saudi government’s economic reform program.

Dubai’s stock market rose in a broad-based rally on Tuesday. The Dubai index rose 0.9 percent to 3,496 points, rebounding from near technical support on its March low of 3,435 points. Nine of the 10 most heavily traded stocks gained with GFH Financial, the most active, adding 2.7 percent.

Emaar Properties climbed 3.3 percent as an executive said its Address Downtown hotel in Dubai, which was damaged in a New Year’s Eve fire in 2015, was on track to reopen in the fourth quarter.

Abu Dhabi’s index dropped 1.1 percent, however, because of a 2 percent fall by telecommunications firm Etisalat as it went ex-dividend. First Abu Dhabi Bank, the UAE’s largest lender, fell back 1.8 percent after rising 2.8 percent on the previous day. Qatar’s index was flat as Commercial Bank of Qatar (CBQ) lost 3 percent after reporting a 66.7 percent drop in first-quarter net profit to $25.1 million.

Analysts polled by Reuters had on average forecast CBQ would make net profit attributable to equity holders, a slightly different profit measure, of QR209.4 million ($57.5 million); the bank cited a sharp rise in provisions for non-performing loans.

Egypt’s rose 0.5 percent as the market reopened after a two-day public holiday, with Global Telecom jumping 4.1 percent.

Arab News