MIDEAST STOCKS-NCB Q3 profit miss weighs on Saudi, rest of Gulf weak | Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-NCB Q3 profit miss weighs on Saudi, rest of Gulf weak | Reuters:

"Banking shares weighed on Saudi Arabia's stock index in morning trade on Sunday after the largest listed lender reported third-quarter profit below expectations, while neighbouring Gulf bourses were also soft.

Riyadh's index pulled back 0.9 percent in the first 40 minutes of trade as National Commercial Bank (NCB) dropped 3.9 percent after reporting third-quarter net profit of 1.96 billion riyals ($522.7 million), down 1.6 percent from the same period of 2015. Three analysts had forecast on average that NCB would make a quarterly profit of 2.31 billion riyals.

NCB, like most other Saudi banks that have already reported quarterly results, cited higher operating expenses, caused by higher impairments on financings and investments. The bank is a key lender to Saudi Arabia's troubled construction sector."



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