Mideast Stocks: #Saudi bourse gains on upbeat earnings; #Qatar retreats

Mideast Stocks: Saudi bourse gains on upbeat earnings; Qatar retreats

Saudi Arabia's stock market rose in early trading on Monday, driven by banking shares after upbeat earnings, while the Qatari benchmark extended losses in a broad-based retreat.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index gained 0.6%, with Al Rajhi Bank rising 0.6%, while the country's biggest lender Saudi National Bank (SNB) was up 0.9%.

SNB made a net profit of 20.01 billion riyals ($5.34 billion) in 2023, beating an average analyst estimate of 19.5 billion riyals, according to LSEG data.

Among other gainers, Bank Albilad advanced 4.4%, after reporting a sharp rise in annual profit.

The lender also proposed a cash dividend of 0.50 riyal per share for 2023.

Separately, non-oil business activity in Saudi Arabia grew at its weakest rate in two years last month, a survey showed on Monday, as a sharp slowdown in new order growth indicated weakening demand.

Dubai's main share index edged 0.2% higher, helped by a 0.5% rise in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties .

In Abu Dhabi, the index rose 0.1%.

Oil prices - a catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets - nudged higher, recovering from sharp falls last week, after Washington pledged to launch further strikes on Iran-backed groups in the Middle East and as Ukrainian drones struck southern Russia's largest refinery.

The Qatari benchmark dropped 1.4%, as all its constituents were in negative territory including the Gulf's largest lender Qatar National Bank, which was down 2.3%.

Data on Friday showed U.S. job growth accelerated in January and wages increased by the most in nearly two years, signs of persistent strength in the labour market that could push the Federal Reserve to start its easing cycle a bit later in the year than markets anticipated.

Most Gulf Cooperation Council countries, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), peg their currencies to the U.S. dollar and follow the Fed's policy moves closely.