Most Gulf bourses in red; Aramco's Q3 profit surges

DUBAI: Most stock markets in the Gulf ended lower on Sunday, with the Saudi index extending losses for a third session as profit-taking continued after the main index reached multi-year highs. Saudi Arabia's benchmark index fell 0.5%, weighed down by a 1.7% drop in petrochemical maker Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), extending losses for a third session.

On Thursday, SABIC reported a net profit of 5.6 billion riyals ($1.49 billion), up from 1.1 billion riyals in the same period last year, but missed Refinitiv-compiled analysts' consensus estimate of 6.1 billion riyals.

But, Saudi Arabian state oil producer Aramco finished 0.4% higher, following a sharp rise in quarterly earnings, boosted by higher crude oil prices and volumes sold, beating analysts forecasts.

Aramco's net income jumped to $30.4 billion for the third-quarter from $11.8 billion a year earlier. The oil giant has risen over 8% this year to a market valuation of just over $2 trillion, a goal sought by de-facto Saudi leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman before the company's initial public offering.

In Abu Dhabi, the index eased 0.1%, hit by a 1.7% fall in Alpha Dhabi Holding and a 0.1% decrease in First Abu Dhabi Bank, the country's largest lender. Dubai's main share index edged 0.1% higher, helped by a 0.8% increase in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties and a 10.4% surge in DAMAC Properties.

On Thursday, DAMAC said its board had unanimously recommended minority shareholders accept founder Hussain Sajwani's offer to buy them out and delist the company. If accepted, BlackRock, State Street and other minority shareholders will receive 1.4 dirham ($0.38) in exchange for each share that they hold, according to the offer.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index retreated 0.8%, after it advanced 1.3% in the previous session. Meanwhile, Egypt's central bank kept its key interest rates unchanged during its monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting on Thursday.

SAUDI ARABIA fell 0.5% to 11,704

ABU DHABI eased 0.1% to 7,865

DUBAI rose 0.1% to 2,864

QATAR lost 0.4% to 11,765

EGYPT lost 0.8% to 11,420

BAHRAIN was up 0.1% to 1,743

OMAN rose 0.8% to 3,697

KUWAIT added 0.2% to 7,69.