Most of the Gulf markets were sluggish on Thursday because of mediocre corporate earnings, but Saudi Arabia’s stock market rose, encouraged by strong global bourses.
The Saudi index gained 0.7 per cent in the first 45 minutes in a broad-based rise. Gainers outnumbered losers by 147 to 20. The cement sector was the best performer of the market.
Saudi Investment Bank gained 2.5 per cent after saying it would pay an annual dividend of 0.6 riyal per share, up from 0.5 riyal for 2016, reports Reuters.
Dubai stocks edged down 0.1 per cent as DAMAC Properties, which on Wednesday revealed a 47 per cent drop in fourth-quarter net profit, lost 1.2 per cent.
Emaar Properties rose 0.5 per cent after it reported a 16 per cent fall in fourth-quarter net profit to 1.36 billion dirhams ($370.3 million).
In Abu Dhabi, the index fell 0.1 per cent as telecommunications firm Etisalat slipped 0.3 per cent.
Qatar’s index fell 0.2 per cent as Mesaieed Petrochemical lost 1.1 per cent, despite reporting a slight rise in annual profit and a hike in its dividend to 0.7 riyal per share from 0.6 riyal.