Home StocksArab Major Gulf stocks up, Saudi’s NCB leaps on strong FY earnings

Major Gulf stocks up, Saudi’s NCB leaps on strong FY earnings

by Amwal Al Ghad English
Gulf stocks

Major Gulf stocks rose on Wednesday, largely on the back of gains in financial shares and a recovery in oil prices, while Saudi was cheered by a host of corporate announcements.

Oil prices climbed for a second day, recouping some losses after a five-day rout, on talk that OPEC could extend output cuts if China’s outbreak of coronavirus hurts demand.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index .TASI was up 0.5%, driven by a 3.1% increase in National Commercial Bank (NCB) 1180.SE.

The country’s largest lender reported a higher net profit of 11.4 billion riyals ($3.04 billion) in 2019, compared to 9.59 billion riyals year before.

Saudi Telecom 7010.SE advanced 0.9% following its preliminary agreement to buy Vodafone’s VOD.L 55% stake in Vodafone Egypt VODE.CA for $2.4 billion.

However, Saudi Basic Industries 2010.SE dropped 2.3% as the chemical firm swung into a 720 million riyal net loss in the fourth quarter from a profit of 3.22 billion riyals a year earlier.

The Abu Dhabi index .ADI opened up 0.4% as International Holding Company IHC.AD jumped 5.9% ahead of its board meeting on Wednesday to approve annual earnings.

First Abu Dhabi Bank FAB.AD rose 0.5%. On Tuesday, the lender posted a 5% increase in fourth-quarter profit.

In Qatar the index .QSI gained 0.3%, with Qatar National Bank QNBK.QA adding 0.5%, and Qatar International Islamic Bank QIIB.QA increasing 0.6% a day after it reported a higher full-year profit.

Dubai’s main share index .DFMGI edged up 0.1%, supported by a 0.7% gain in the country’s largest sharia-compliant lender Dubai Islamic Bank DISB.DU.

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