OPEC+ Decision, Earnings Drive Mideast Market Gains: Inside EM

(Bloomberg) --

Most stock markets in the Middle East advanced after a week-long break on Sunday, the first day of trading since OPEC and its allies agreed a deal to boost production. A recovery in earnings also boosted regional equities.

• Saudi Arabia’s benchmark Tadawul All Share Index rises 0.8%, the most since June 13
  • Al Rajhi Bank +1.1%; Saudi Electricity +5.2%; Maaden +5.1%; Saudi Research +10%
  • The Tadawul Materials sub-index rises 1.7% to the highest level on record as petrochemical stocks gain
  • READ: OPEC’s Long-Awaited Oil Deal May Fail to Avert Supply Squeeze
  • Methanol Chemicals rises 4% to highest since October 2014 after reporting 2Q profit of 60.2 million riyals vs loss of 31.3 million riyals year ago
• Abu Dhabi’s ADX General Index closes at a record high
  • “Earnings recovery is definitely helping the markets in Abu Dhabi,” said Harshjit Oza, head of research at Abu Dhabi-based International Securities
    • “We are expecting sequential improvement in earnings for the banking sector names in Abu Dhabi,” he said
  • ADCB jumps as much as 1.3% after reporting net income for the second quarter that beat the average analyst estimate
    • READ: Cost of Risk of 110-150 Bps Could Contain ADCB Quality Pressure
  • Dana Gas rises as much as 3.4%, hitting the highest level since March 2020, following a favorable court ruling
• Dubai Financial Market General Index climbs as much as 1.2%, the most since June 1
  • Emirates NBD +3.1%; Emaar Properties +1.3%; Du +1.5%
• Qatari stocks rise 0.8%, trimming losses from last week
  • QNB +1.1%; Qatar Islamic Bank +1.1%; Qatar Electricity & Water +3.1%
• The MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell 2.2% last week, down for a third week out of the last four

Key News:

• Bahrain-based Arab Banking Corp., also known as Bank ABC, gets regulatory approvals to acquire 100% of Blom Bank Egypt
• Iraq’s cabinet grants the country’s oil ministry approval to sign a deal with Total to execute projects
• Two Turkish soldiers were killed and two others were wounded in an attack in northern Syria, according to a statement by Turkey’s Defense Ministry, which added that the assault was carried out by “terrorists,” without naming a specific group

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.