Mideast Stocks: #Saudi, #Qatar indexes up on corporate earnings; others dip | ZAWYA MENA Edition

Mideast Stocks: Saudi, Qatar indexes up on corporate earnings; others dip | ZAWYA MENA Edition

Most major Gulf stock markets traded mixed early on Monday, with a slew of corporate earnings driving shares in Saudi and Qatar higher.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index gained 0.1%, helped by a 0.3% rise in Al Rajhi Bank and a 0.6% increase in Saudi National Bank (SNB).

SNB, the kingdom's largest lender, posted a 20.3% rise in first-quarter net profit on Monday with lower impairments and higher fees, in a sign that the economy has been recovering from last year's pandemic lockdowns.

But, Saudi Arabian Mining Company retreated 2%, following a decrease in net sales compared with the previous quarter.

In Dubai, the main share index eased 0.1%. Top lender Emirates NBD lost 0.4% and the Dubai Financial Market declined 1.8%.

The Abu Dhabi index slid 0.1%, hit by a 0.5% fall in telecoms giant Etisalat.

However, the index's fall was cushioned by gains at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, after the United Arab Emirates' third-biggest lender reported soaring profit as it recovers from troubled hospital operator NMC Health impairments.

ADCB reported first-quarter net profit of 1.1 billion dirhams ($299.50 million), a 436% increase year-on-year.

In Qatar, the benchmark index edged up 0.2%, with Commercial advancing 2.2% after the lender reported a net profit of 602.7 million Qatari riyals for the first-quarter, up from 402.1 million a year earlier.

Among others, utility firm Qatar Electricity and Water Co added 0.9%, ahead of its earnings announcement.