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| On June 25, 2014, an investor looks at a screen that shows stock information at the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. |
Saudi stock markets
Oct. 23 (Reuters) - On Sunday, Saudi Arabia's stock market closed higher as a result of rising oil prices and strong earnings, while the Qatari index fell as natural gas prices fell.
On Friday, concerns about a global economic downturn and the impact of interest rate increases on fuel use were outweighed by hopes of stronger Chinese demand and a weaker dollar.read more The benchmark index for Saudi Arabia (.TASI>) increased by 0.4 percent, led by a 1.3 percent rise in oil giant Saudi Aramco (2222.SE>) and a 1.8 percent rise in Riyad Bank (1010.SE>), which reported a sharp increase in quarterly profit.
National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (4030.SE>) rose 2.9% among other gainers.The business reported a quarterly net profit of 269.9 million riyals ($71.82 million) after trading hours, up from 18 million riyals a year earlier.
The biggest lender in the country, Saudi National Bank (1180.SE>), posted a net profit of 4.725 billion riyals ($1.26 billion) in the third quarter, up from 3.98 billion riyals a year earlier.That was lower than the estimate of 5.25 billion riyals made by EFG Hermes.
Separately, on Sunday, the crown prince of the kingdom launched a program with the initial goal of raising 40 billion riyals to attract investment in supply chains to and from the kingdom.read more The petrochemical manufacturer Industries Qatar (IQCD.QA>) fell 1.1%, causing the Qatari index (.QSI>) to fall 0.5 percent.
Daniel Takieddine, CEO of MENA BDSwiss, said that the sharp drop in natural gas prices last week could cause additional price corrections in the Qatari market.
He stated, "The commodity could extend losses as production exceeds expectations and warm weather limits demand, increasing pressure on the stock market."
Outside of the Gulf, Telecom Egypt (ETEL.CA>) and Egypt's blue-chip index (.EGX30>) both declined by 1.9%.
SAUDI ARABIA
(.TASI>) increased by 0.4 percent to 12,007; QATAR
(.QSI>) decreased by 0.5 percent to 12,594; EGYPT
(.EGX30>) decreased by 0.2 percent to 10,258; BAHRAIN
(.BAX>) remained unchanged at 1,866; OMAN
(.MSX30>) decreased by 0.8 percent to 4,418; KUWAIT