Mideast Stocks: Most major Gulf bourses rise on solid corporate earnings

Mideast Stocks: Most major Gulf bourses rise on solid corporate earnings

Most major stock markets in the Gulf rose in early deals on Wednesday, largely supported by better-than-expected corporate earnings, while Abu Dhabi traded flat and was the only laggard.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index rose 0.9%, boosted by banking stocks as Saudi National Bank, the kingdom's biggest lender, jumped 1.7% after its second-quarter net profit almost doubled.

Alinma Bank rose 2.3% after reporting a net profit of 925.1 million riyals ($246.31 million) for its second quarter, compared with 710.3 million riyals a year ago.

In Dubai, the main share index edged up 0.2%, led by a 0.7% rise in Dubai Islamic Bank after the lender posted a second-quarter net profit of 1.34 billion dirhams ($364.83 million), up from 1.01 billion dirhams.

Cooling solutions provider Tabreed gained 2.8% after it posted a quarterly net profit of 152.2 million dirhams ($41.44 million), compared with 148 million dirhams a year earlier, and the company board approved an increase in the foreign ownership limit to 100%.

In Qatar, the benchmark climbed 0.4%, extending gains to a ninth session. Sharia-compliant lender Masraf Al Rayan advanced 1.7%, while Qatar Navigation strengthened 2.9%.

Abu Dhabi's index was weighed down by a 0.4% decline in conglomerate International Holding Company and 0.8% drop in Alpha Dhabi Holding.