Saudi, Egypt fall as markets reopen after weekend; Qatar edges up | Reuters
Saudi Arabia's stock market fell for a second consecutive session on Sunday, under pressure from lower banking and petrochem shares, while Qatar rebounded after falling more than 2% in the previous session.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI) dropped 0.8%, extending Thursday's losses, with Saudi National Bank (1180.SE) down 2.6% and oil behemoth Saudi Aramco (2222.SE) down 1.4%.
Aramco, on a par with Apple Inc (AAPL.O) as the world's most valuable company, last week reported a net income of $39.5 billion for the quarter to March 31, up from $21.7 billion a year earlier. read more
Kingdom Holding (4280.SE) jumped 9.9%, its biggest daily gain since early June last year, after Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal signed an agreement with sovereign wealth fund PIF to sell 16.87% of his investment in the firm for a total of 5.68 billion riyals ($1.51 billion).
Qatar's index (.QSI), edged up 0.1%, finding some support from financials and energy stocks after dropping more than 2% on Thursday.
Islamic lender Masraf al Rayan (MARK.QA) added 1.7% while Qatar Gas Transport Nakilat (QGTS.QA) rose 2.7%.
Germany and Qatar on Friday signed a declaration to deepen their energy partnership, with a focus on trade in hydrogen and liquefied natural gas (LNG), as Europe's biggest economy looks for alternative supplies amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine. read more
Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index (.EGX30) ended 0.8% lower as the country's largest lender, Commercial International Bank, (COMI.CA), fell 0.7% and Abu Qir Fertilizers (ABUK.CA) was down 2.3%.
With higher interest rates, UAE banks are headed for pre-pandemic profitability | Banking – Gulf News
High oil prices and economic activity coupled with rising interest rates will lift the UAE banking sector’s profitability to pre-pandemic levels.
While the risk perception on overall asset quality is improving - with significantly lower provisions reported in the first quarter of 2022 - margins are on the rise. All three leading credit rating agencies have assigned a stable outlook for UAE banks.
“We have changed our outlook for the UAE’s banking system to stable from negative - this reflects our view that operating conditions in the UAE are returning to normal,” said Moody’s.
According to Fitch, “Financial performance is recovering towards pre-pandemic levels, and the agency recently revised its outlook on the operating environment to stable, reflecting substantially lower risks to the banks.”
Saudi Wealth Fund Takes $1.5 Billion Stake in Alwaleed’s Firm - Bloomberg
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has bought a $1.5 billion stake in the investment company of billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, who previously reached an undisclosed deal with the country’s government after being detained and accused of corruption.
The Public Investment Fund acquired 16.9% of Kingdom Holding Co. from Prince Alwaleed for 9.09 riyals a share, the closing price on the last trading day before the transaction was announced. Prince Alwaleed will retain a 78.1% holding, KHC said on Sunday, with the remaining 5% of the stock listed on the Saudi bourse.
The firm’s shares rose as much 9.9% in early trading in Riyadh, before paring gains to 8.9% to trade at 9.90 riyals as of 11.51 a.m.
The PIF’s investment brings Alwaleed, whose grandfather was the founder of modern Saudi Arabia, closer to the Saudi government after years of operating independently. The wealth fund is chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de factor ruler, and is a key part of his plan to transform the oil dependent economy by investing in other industries.
