Doha: Qatar Exchange was down 8.85 points or 0.10 percent to 8,628.31 points yesterday from the previous closing of 8,637.16 points. Among the top losers were Commercial Bank whose share dropped 1.53 percent to QR64.50, Qatar Islamic Bank lost 1 percent to QR69.20, National Leasing fell 1.74 percent to QR33.80 and The Investors was down 0.88 percent to QR23.65. The banking and financial sector dropped 0.33 points, the industrial sector gained 0.15 points and the services sector lost 0.33 points.
Meanwhile, Oman’s Nawras made its largest one-day decline in six months after the telecommunications operator posted a fifth straight drop in quarterly profit, weighing on a downbeat Muscat bourse. Nawras dropped 6.8 percent, its biggest fall since October 22, to slump to a 10-week low.
The operator, majority-owned by Ooredoo, reported a 21 percent drop in first-quarter profit on Sunday, missing analysts’ estimates. “Capital expenditure is expected to be high this year, so 2013 will be a challenging period even with mobile penetration and data revenue increasing,” said Kanaga Sundar, Gulf Baader Capital Markets head of research.
Kuwait’s Wataniya, another Ooredoo subsidiary, last week posted a 31 percent drop in first-quarter profit, also a fifth straight quarterly decline.
Ooredoo, which is due to report its earnings today, ended flat. Analysts on average forecast it will post a 13.8 percent increase in quarterly profit. Oman’s index fell 0.9 percent to a three-week low, but is up 6.3 percent in 2013.
Dubai’s index gave back early gains to end lower for a first session in seven, easing from Sunday’s three-and-a-half-year high as investors booked gains in some of this year’s top performing stocks.
“The fact we hit a new high before closing lower could be a trigger for more profit taking in the coming days — we need to take a breather,” said Sebastien Henin, portfolio manager at The National Investor.
Dubai fell 0.3 percent to 2,101 points, with its next resistance level at 2,201 points, said Bruce Powers, a technical analyst and corporate advisor at Orpheus Capital in Dubai.
Emaar Properties lost 0.2 percent, while lender Emirates NBD and telecom firm du each fell 1.4 percent. Emaar and du are up 47.7 and 46.1 percent respectively in 2013. Emirates NBD has gained 75.4 percent over the same period.
Egypt’s main index fell for a fourth session in six, slipping 0.6 percent to 5,199 points. It is down 4.8 percent this year.
“The market is continuing its minor correction,” said Mohabeldeen Agena, head of the technical desk at Beltone Financial in Cairo.
Saudi Arabia’s index rose 0.4 percent, its seventh advance in eight sessions since April 17’s four-week low, although only one of these gains was of more than 0.5 percent. The narrow movement of the index has masked the divergent performance of different sectors.
Petrochemicals fell 0.3 percent. The sector has now declined 6.6 percent from March 27’s 10-month peak, dropping after Saudi producers reported declining first-quarter profits and oil prices see-sawed. It is now near-flat for the year.
Retail and cement, which rely on local demand, are up 16.8 and 10.7 percent respectively in 2013.
“Concerns and uncertainty about global demand is affecting petrochemicals,” said Hesham Tuffaha, a Riyadh-based fund manager.
“The gains in retail and other sectors are not just based on sentiment, but valuations too - quarter-on-quarter companies have made double-digit profit gains.”
QNA/Reuters
