Stock markets in the Gulf were little moved in early trade Wednesday, dampened by weak oil prices and mixed second-quarter earnings in Saudi Arabia, while Dubai's Emaar Properties again pulled back from major technical resistance. The Dubai index edged down 0.2 percent as Emaar, which has since last week been testing resistance on its October peak of 7.01 dirhams, slipped 0.6 percent to 6.86 dirhams. Logistics company Aramex dropped 0.8 percent after jumping 5.5 percent on Tuesday. After the close on Tuesday, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources, that founder Fadi Ghandour had sold his entire 9.9 percent stake in the firm to Gulf investors including Emaar Chairman Mohamed Alabbar. Dubai exchange data on Wednesday showed no such ownership change. Dubai Islamic Bank added 0.6 percent after posting a 3 percent increase in second-quarter net profit, broadly in line with analysts' forecasts. In Saudi Arabia, retailer Fawaz Abdulaziz Alhokair Co jumped 6.9 percent after reporting a 0.9 percent year-on-year rise in net profit for the latest quarter to 212.6 million riyals ($56.7 million). EFG Hermes had forecast 170.1 million riyals and NCB Capital 190.0 million. Low-cost retailer Abdullah Al Othaim dropped 1.5 percent after posting a 9.6 percent drop in quarterly profit, citing higher personnel and promotional expenses as well as rises in transport and electricity costs due to austerity measures in the 2016 state budget. Saudi Telecom sank 1.2 percent after reporting a 27.1 percent year-on-year fall in quarterly profit to 1.87 billion riyals. Analysts had on average forecast 2.37 billion. ] National Shipping Co of Saudi Arabia (Bahri) rose 0.8 percent after reporting a 47.2 percent leap in profit to 504.18 million riyals. Alistithmar Capital had forecast 308.4 million. National Commercial Bank was flat after its board recommended paying a cash dividend of 0.60 riyal per share for the first half of 2016, down from 0.80 riyal a year earlier. Abu Dhabi's index edged up 0.1 percent, buoyed by a 1.7 percent gain in Aldar Properties after the company said it would expand its retail business in the city of Al Ain. Qatar's index dropped 0.5 percent in a broad-based decline, although telecommunications operator Ooredoo rose 0.3 percent after reporting a 16.4 percent gain in second-quarter net profit, in line with estimates, buoyed by its Asian businesses. Source: Reuters
