Saudi climbs for 5th straight day

Dubai : Stock market Saudi Arabia climbed yesterday while the rest of the region was sluggish, with a slide in Dubai blue chip Emaar Properties dragging down that market once again.

In Saudi Arabia, the index gained 0.6 per cent, rising for a fifth straight day. The market is bullish because of expectations for foreign fund inflows in the coming two years as the kingdom joins emerging market indexes.

PetroRabigh was the biggest gainer, surging 7.9pc to its highest level since October 2014. It will go ex-dividend next Wednesday. With a trailing price-earnings ratio of about 17 times and a dividend yield of 1.8pc, the stock is no longer cheap by some measures.

“The anticipated fund flows are large so a lot of stocks are just moving on momentum now,” said one Saudi fund manager, adding that even though many valuations were looking rich, the market might still have the energy to rise further.

Telecommunications firm Zain Saudi closed 3.6pc higher in its heaviest trade since April 2017, although it came well off its intra-day high.

Dubai’s index sank 1.4pc as Emaar Properties slipped 3.6pc. The stock has been dragged down this year by the weakness of the Dubai real estate market.

Strong bank earnings failed to boost stocks. Dubai Islamic Bank dropped 1.8pc after reporting a 17pc rise in quarterly net profit, while the biggest bank, Emirates , fell 0.5pc despite posting a 27pc increase in quarterly profit that beat analysts’ estimates.

In Egypt, the blue chip index slid 0.5pc as major financial services firm Pioneers Holding plunged 10pc to 9.58 Egyptian pounds after saying it would increase its capital by 30pc. New shares will be sold to existing shareholders at 5 pounds per share.

The Qatari index surged 1.1pc as Commercial Bank gained 3.8pc. It reported a 345pc year-on-year jump in first-quarter net profit to 405 million riyals ($111 million). The average forecast from analysts polled by Reuters was 329.5 million riyals.