Egypt's largest bank helped carry the stock market higher on Thursday after it posted strong quarterly earnings, while weak results from bluechips weighed on some Gulf bourses. The Cairo index rose 1.5 percent to 8,031 points, climbing above major technical resistance on the April peak of 7,944 points. The market euphoria seen on Wednesday, when the index jumped 5.0 percent on news that Cairo was close to obtaining an International Monetary Fund loan of $21 billion, cooled as trading volume fell to less than half of the previous day's level. Seventy percent of traded shares dropped on Thursday.
Allen Sandeep, head of research at Cairo-based Naeem Brokerage, said clarity on terms of the IMF loan would be needed before any extended stock market rally could take hold. "The terms of the loan will likely include fiscal reforms such as subsidy cuts, although I expect those will come in phases over multiple years," he said. "But the loan, once signed, is a vote of confidence which will serve to help support the economy in the near term."
Commercial International Bank soared 6.6 percent after it posted a 28 percent year-on-year jump in second-quarter net profit to 1.46 billion pounds ($164 million), with revenues up 20 percent. Meanwhile, Riyadh's index dropped 1.5 percent to 6,336 points, a 3-1/2-month closing low, as Saudi Basic Industries, the country's top petrochemical firm, fell 3.8 percent after it posted lower second-quarter profits. SABIC reported a 23.2 percent drop in second-quarter net profit to 4.74 billion riyals ($1.26 billion) because of lower selling prices for its products.
The result beat the 3.92 billion riyal average estimate of analysts polled by Reuters. But SABIC, whose shares had risen in the past week on hopes for a positive earnings surprise, also said it would cut its dividend to 2 riyals per share for the first half of 2016 from 2.5 riyals a year ago.
Telecommunications operator Zain Saudi plunged its 10 percent daily limit after it reported its quarterly net loss widened to 329 million riyals. Analysts had on average forecast a 222.1 million riyal loss. The largest food group in the kingdom, Savola, sank 3.2 percent after it reported a 43.2 percent fall in second-quarter net profit and cut its dividend, citing higher operating expenses and financial charges.
In Abu Dhabi, the index erased early gains to edge down 0.1 percent, as National Bank of Abu Dhabi fell 1.6 percent while First Gulf Bank was flat. Both banks, which are expected to merge early next year, reported second-quarter profit drops on higher loan provisions but the results were broadly in line with expectations.
Dubai's index added 0.3 percent as courier firm Aramex climbed 3.6 percent to 4.00 dirhams after it reported a 36 percent rise in second-quarter net profit, beating analysts' estimates. The Dubai exchange said a firm named Jaona Investment LLC bought 99 million Aramex shares at 4.40 dirhams each in a special trading session before the opening on Thursday, giving it 6.55 percent ownership. The seller was not identified and Jaona could not be reached for comment. Exchange data showed there was no change in the ownership of Aramex's biggest shareholder Levant Logistics Holding, which is 9.9 percent. Emaar Malls, a subsidiary of Emaar Properties, lost 1.4 percent. The Dubai Mall operator reported an 11.2 percent rise in quarterly net profit.
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