MIDEAST STOCKS-Egypt outperforms Mideast markets; Aramco's Q2 profit slides - Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Egypt outperforms Mideast markets; Aramco's Q2 profit slides - Reuters:

The Egyptian bourse rose sharply on
Sunday, extending gains for a fifth straight session as most of
its constituents were in positive territory, while the Saudi
index ended higher helped by its financial shares.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index rose 0.4%, led by a
0.8% gain in Al Rajhi Bank and a 1.5% increase in
Banque Saudi Fransi.

Elsewhere, state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco
added 0.3% despite reporting a steep decline in second-quarter
earnings.

Aramco reported a net profit of 24.6 billion riyals ($6.56
billion) in second-quarter, down from 92.6 billion riyals a year
earlier.

But the company stuck with plans to pay $75 billion in
dividends this year and CEO Amin Nasser said global oil demand
was recovering.