Saudi Arabia's shares led gains as Gulf Arab bourses were mixed on Wednesday, after a fresh bout of second-quarter earnings lifted sentiment and improving performance on global markets gave support. The kingdom's benchmark rose 0.8 percent, extending gains for a second day since Monday's four-week low.
Strong company results and hopes for a settlement in the US debt ceiling row boosted global equities on Wednesday, while the euro rose on hopes for a scheme to address the Greek debt crisis.
Kingdom Holding gained 1.9 percent after the Saudi investment firm's quarterly profit rose 21 percent. It made a second-quarter profit of 163.5 million riyals ($43.6 million), thanks mostly to income from investments and dividends.
"Technically, the market is very strong," said Youssef Kassantini, a Saudi-based financial analyst. "The banking sector is recuperating and we're expecting even stronger results in Q3 and Q4," he added, but warning the slower business period of Ramazan would affect the results in the third quarter.
Bucking the upbeat trend, PetroRabigh tumbled 6 percent. It posted a second-quarter loss of $107 million after a two-month closure of its refinery slashed sales.
Most other petrochemicals gained, with Saudi Basic Industries Corp up 2.4 percent and the sector's index climbing 1.3 percent. In Kuwait, the index rose 0.5 percent, gaining for a second day since its regulator gave investment funds until March 2012, to impose a cap on their ownership in individual financial securities.
Ahli United Bank climbed 5.6 percent, Boubyan Bank rose 1.7 percent and Al Ahli Bank added 1.5 percent. "Valuations are attractive from a historic point of view, but not compared to the rest of the region," said Sebastien Henin, portfolio manager at the National Investor in Abu Dhabi.
UAE telecom operator Etisalat dropped 0.5 percent to a six-week low, extending losses since it reported declining quarterly profit. Abu Dhabi's index fell 0.4 percent to its lowest close since June 6.
In Oman, the benchmark slipped 0.3 percent to a fresh two-week low in low volumes. "MSM might go down to certain level that will attract buyers again. There is some pressure even though volumes are low," said Adel Nasr, United Securities brokerage manager. "We will see the market drop more if global markets continue to perform badly."
Large-caps weighed, with Bank Muscat slipping 0.4 percent, telecom operator Nawras declining 0.7 percent and Oman Telecommunications Co falling 0.4 percent.
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