17/05/2009
Most Gulf stock markets were down yesterday, May 17, 2009 at the end of the corporate earnings season. Some companies registered sharp declines in profits while investors stand to reap profits from the previous rise in the market due to high oil prices.
The biggest loser in the in the region was Qatar which closed down by 2.5% after rising in the previous session.
The one exception amongst the institutions in the GCC Financial Group was HERMES. "We have seen rises over the last ten days ... as a result we can expect to see two days of profit from time to time."
Doha Stock Exchange rose more than 50% since the beginning of March while the Abu Dhabi index rose by about 6%. The "super-high came from investors from the Middle East and North Africa ... not from Western institutions so they feel they have control over the situation."
In Abu Dhabi the index closed down by 1% affected by Abu Dhabi National Energy Company whose shares went down 6.3% after the company posted a 90% drop in profits.
Oman's index fell 0.6% affected by Jalvar Engineering and Contracting stocks which fell 7.7% after a worse than expected decline in profits that reached 35% in the first quarter resulting in a loss of 4.6 million riyals. Sunil Daal, Vice President of Gulf Operations for Bader Capital Market said in Muscat, "This is much worse than expected. Most expectations indicated profits of between six and eight million riyals."
Bahrain's index was only market that rose slightly by just 0.2% to 1637 points. With the Saudi stock market was closed yesterday. Abu Dhabi's index closed down 1.24% at 2590 points. First Gulf shares lost 2.47% and Al-Dar Properties shares went down 4.25%.
In Dubai, the index closed down by 1.02% at 1635 points, driven by Emaar Properties shares which fell 1.93%.
In the Sultanate of Oman, the index fell 0.61% to 5373 points having suffered losses in three of five trading sessions this week.
The Bank Muscat's shares suffered the greatest loss in the index after ending down 3.09%. Omantel's shares rose 2.34% after a record net profit better than expected at 37.94 million riyals in the first quarter, down 1.2% lower thas same period last year. In Qatar Al-Barwah Properties shares fell 3.31%. The shares of the Commercial Bank of Qatar fell 2.06% and Doha Bank's shares fell 3.34%. In Kuwait, the index fell 1.39% to 7629 points. The National Bank of Kuwait's shares fell 3.45% and Kuwait Finance House shares fell 3.39%.
