#Saudi bourse rebounds; Aramco's profit soars 82% in Q1 | Reuters

Saudi bourse rebounds; Aramco's profit soars 82% in Q1 | Reuters

Saudi Arabia's stock market rebounded on Sunday, after a sharp decline in the previous session, while the Qatari index extended losses.

Most Gulf stock markets lost ground last week reflecting investors' anxiety about fast-rising inflation that will drive a sharp rise in interest rates and put global economy growth at risk.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI) gained 2.5%, with Al Rajhi Bank (1120.SE) advancing 3.6%, while oil group Saudi Aramco (2222.SE) finished 4.2% higher after reporting an almost 82% surge in first-quarter net profit.

Aramco, which is on a par with Apple Inc (AAPL.O) as the world's most valuable company, reported net income of $39.5 billion for the quarter to March 31 from $21.7 billion a year earlier. read more

Oil prices, a key catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets, rose about 4% on Friday as U.S. gasoline prices jumped to a record high, China looked ready to ease pandemic restrictions and investors worried supplies will tighten if the European Union bans Russian oil. read more

In Qatar, the index (.QSI) dropped more than 2% as most of the stocks on the index were in negative territory, including Masraf Al Rayan (MARK.QA).

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index (.EGX30) fell 1.4%, with Commercial International Bank (COMI.CA) losing 1.4%.

The Egyptian market remains exposed to the changing sentiment (in global financial markets) and could continue seeing a volatile performance, said Fadi Reyad, market analyst at CAPEX.com.

"The change in expectations comes on top of the impact the country is witnessing from the conflict in Ukraine."

European, Middle Eastern & African Stocks - Bloomberg #Israel #SaudiArabia #Qatar close

European, Middle Eastern & African Stocks - Bloomberg #Israel #SaudiArabia #Qatar close

#Saudi bourse's quarterly profit falls on lower trading services, listing fees | Reuters

Saudi bourse's quarterly profit falls on lower trading services, listing fees | Reuters

Saudi Tadawul Group (1111.SE), the kingdom's stock exchange operator, posted a 21.7% decline in first quarter net profit on Sunday on a slowdown in trading services and listing fees.

The bourse reported a net profit after tax and zakat of 140.6 million riyals ($37.48 million) in the three months to March 31, down from 179.6 million riyals in the same period last year, according to a bourse filing.

Tadawul went public in December, raising 3.78 billion riyals from investors in a listing that was 121 times oversubscribed.

The Saudi stock market is the Arab world's largest. Its listed companies have a market capitalisation of nearly $3.2 trillion.

#Saudi April consumer price index up 2.3%, according to government data | Reuters

Saudi April consumer price index up 2.3%, according to government data | Reuters

Saudi Arabia's consumer price index rose 2.3% from a year earlier in April, fueled by higher prices of transport, and food and beverages, government data showed on Sunday.

Transport prices increased by 4.6%, while food and beverages prices rose 4.3%, the data showed.

Compared to March 2022, consumer prices increased by 0.4%, Saudi Arabia's General Authority for Statistics said in a statement.

Saudi Aramco’s Profit Soars as Oil Prices and Output Jump - Bloomberg

Saudi Aramco’s Profit Soars as Oil Prices and Output Jump - Bloomberg

Saudi Aramco posted its highest profit since its record stock-market listing, after oil prices surged in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Aramco, which last week surpassed Apple Inc. to become the world’s most valuable company, followed Big Oil rivals such as Shell Plc and BP Plc in reporting bumper earnings for the first quarter. Like them, the Saudi Arabian firm’s results were boosted by crude’s jump to $110 a barrel after Moscow’s attack in late February.

State-controlled Aramco made net income of $39.5 billion, up 82% from a year earlier, when global energy demand was still severely suppressed by the coronavirus pandemic.

The company’s free cash flow rose almost to $31 billion, though it opted to keep its quarterly dividend unchanged at $18.8 billion. That enabled Aramco to reduce its leverage. Gearing, a measure of debt to equity, fell from 14% in December to 8% at the end of March. The gauge spiked above 20% during the pandemic as profit slumped, forcing Aramco to borrow more.