Egyptian stocks plummet, Mobily weighs on Saudi bourse

Egyptian stock markets fell sharply on Tuesday ahead of its central bank meeting later this week to decide on rate cuts, while Saudi shares were pulled lower by losses at Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) after it missed fiscal year profit estimates.

Other major Gulf stocks were mixed. Egypt's blue-chip index was down 1.2% with the country's largest lender Commercial International Bank Egypt losing 0.8%.

Heliopolis Co For Housing And Development fell 6.8% a day after it traded ex-dividend. A Reuters poll showed Egypt's central bank would likely keep interest rates on hold for a second straight time on Thursday, though some analysts expected another cut after inflation ticking up in January.

In January, the central bank kept its deposit rate steady at 12.25% and its lending rate at 13.25%. Saudi Arabia's benchmark index closed 0.2% lower with Mobily down 3.3%.

The telecom operator swung to a profit of 31 million riyals ($8.27 million) in 2019, but missed analysts' estimates of about 194 million riyals, according to Refinitiv data. State-owned Saudi Aramco closed up 0.3% at 33.2 riyals ($8.85). The Abu Dhabi index slipped 0.5% as First Abu Dhabi Bank shed 1.3% and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank lost 0.7%.

In Qatar, the index ended up 0.7%. Qatar National Bank rose 1.6%, while Nakilat added 2.3% after the energy shipping and transport firm reported a 12.4% rise in 2019 profit. However, Doha Bank plunged 10% to its lowest in over eight months after the lender posted a 9.2% drop in its annual profit to 754 million riyals ($207.14 million). Dubai's index closed flat with the blue-chip developer Emaar Properties gaining 1.3% and the lender Emirates NBD shedding 0.8%.