Smaller exchanges see gains amid quieter trading

Emaar EC was one of the most traded stocks in Riyadh yesterday.

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The smaller stock exchanges were the only measures to see a rise yesterday as the Gulf region remained relatively flat for the week amid thinner market trading.

In Riyadh, the Tadawul fell a marginal 0.01% to close at 6,300, down from 6,316 at the beginning of the week though up overall since the start of the third quarter. Its cement index fell 0.49% with only Saudi Cement Company posting a rise of the listed manufacturers of the material.

Emaar Economic City, the investment vehicle managing the development of the King Abdullah financial district, gained the most of the construction-linked stocks, up 1.17% to close at SR8.65.

In Dubai the DFM index lost 14.5 points to close at 1,513, though rising since the start of the week and since the start of the third quarter, which was 1,461 by the end of 30th June. Arabtec Holdings lost 1.67% to close at AED1.76; Emaar Properties declined by 1.79% to a value of AED3.29 per share; Drake & Scull International , the MEP giant, lost 0.7% to finish at 85 fils; and Deyaar Development closed at 31 fils following a loss of 0.6%.

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Al Mazaya Holding, the real estate investor, lost just over 3.7% on the back of a fall in gross profits for the last six months compared to the same period in 2009, from KD7.636 million to KD4.394 million, according to results announced to the stock exchange yesterday.

Gross takings for the second quarter increased, however, against the equivalent 2009 period. Net profits fell almost KD10 million to just over KD2.5 million for the last six months.

In Doha the Qatar Exchange fell 16.4 points to close at 7,087, down 0.23% yet up for the week which closed at 7,004 on Sunday, and up from the 6,899 at the start of the third quarter. Industries Qatar, one of the country’s biggest steel producers, posted a 14% rise in profits for the second quarter, from QR1.22 billion to QR1.39 billion, according to newswires, partly, the company attributes, to “buoyant steel prices feeding through to good segmental profitability”. The stock fell 1.17% to close at QR101.3.

In Abu Dhabi the index shed 0.05% to close at 2,535, essentially flat for the week and the beginning of the quarter.

By contrast, the exchanges in Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait all saw minor gains in trading. The Muscat Securities market climbed 0.01% to close at 6,350, up from the 6,330 at the beginning of week and 6,117 on 22nd July.

Bahrain’s measure lifted 0.125%, up 1.75 points, to close at 1,399 and up from 1393 at the start of the week and just over 4% for the year to date. The Kuwait Stock Exchange’s unweighted index rose 0.178% to close at 6,649.6.