Saudi Shares Retreat as Safco Quarter Profit Misses Estimates; Sabic Falls - Bloomberg

Saudi Arabian shares headed for the lowest close this month after second-quarter earnings at Saudi Arabian Fertilizer Co., a unit of Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC), missed analysts’ estimates.

Saudi Arabian Fertilizer, also known as Safco (SAFCO), lost 2.1 percent. Saudi Basic, the world’s biggest petrochemicals maker, dropped the most in more than two weeks. The Tadawul All Share Index (SASEIDX) declined 0.5 percent to 6,592.21 at 12:50 p.m. in Riyadh, headed for the lowest close since June 29. The Persian Gulf region’s Bloomberg GCC 200 Index (BGCC200) retreated 0.3 percent.

“Safco results are weighing down on market sentiment,” said Asim Bukhtiar, an equity analyst at Riyad Capital.

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