PHOTO
DUBAI, July 25 (Reuters) - Gulf bourses diverged in early trade on Monday with the two main bourses in the United Arab Emirates recovering from losses on the previous day but Riyadh's stock index dragged lower by petrochemicals.
Abu Dhabi's index
.ADI
climbed 0.4 percent with real estate developer and property rental manager Eshraq Properties
ESHR.AD
, the most heavily traded stock on the bourse, adding 1.4 percent.
But real estate advisory firm JLL reported that after 18 months of relatively stable conditions, Abu Dhabi's real estate market was starting to show initial signs of weakness.
"During Q2 2016, we have started to see the first signs of a downward trend as the decline in the oil sector, reduced government spending and weak sentiment continues," David Dudley, head of JLL's Abu Dhabi office, said in a report.
Aldar Properties
ALDR.AD
, the largest listed real estate developer in Abu Dhabi, was flat after an hour of trade. The company is expected to report earnings on Aug. 2.
Dubai's index
.DFMGI
partly recovered from its 0.8 percent decline on Sunday and added 0.5 percent. Builder Arabtec
ARTC.DU
was the most active stock and gained 1.3 percent.
Qatar's index
.QSI
was little changed in thin trade. Two blue chip lenders had opposing impacts on market direction with Islamic lender Masraf Al Rayan
MARK.QA
rising 0.6 percent while the largest lender by market value, Qatar National Bank
QNBK.QA
, dropped 0.3 percent.
Riyadh's benchmark
.TASI
edged down 0.3 percent after 35 minutes, extending the previous session's 1.2 percent decline.
Petrochemical shares were the main drag as Brent futures
LCOc1
prices held near 11-week lows. Most petrochemical producers have reported second-quarter earnings so the market is awaiting results from heavyweight Saudi Basic Industries
2010.SE
, which is expected to report this week. Shares in SABIC were down 0.6 percent.
Sahara Petrochemical
2260.SE
rose 0.9 percent after it reported that second-quarter net profit soared 746 percent, partly because of higher selling prices for some products, but also because some plants experienced scheduled shut-downs in the year-earlier period.
Some insurers were bullish after posting results. Saudi United Cooperative Insurance
8060.SE
jumped 7.6 percent after it swung to a net profit before zakat (tax) of 30.6 million riyals ($8.16 million) from a loss of 40.4 million riyals in the corresponding quarter of 2015.
(Reporting by Celine Aswad; Editing by Andrew Torchia) ((celine.aswad@thomsonreuters.com; +971 4 4536886; Reuters Messaging: celine.aswad.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
Abu Dhabi's index
But real estate advisory firm JLL reported that after 18 months of relatively stable conditions, Abu Dhabi's real estate market was starting to show initial signs of weakness.
"During Q2 2016, we have started to see the first signs of a downward trend as the decline in the oil sector, reduced government spending and weak sentiment continues," David Dudley, head of JLL's Abu Dhabi office, said in a report.
Aldar Properties
Dubai's index
Qatar's index
Riyadh's benchmark
Petrochemical shares were the main drag as Brent futures
Sahara Petrochemical
Some insurers were bullish after posting results. Saudi United Cooperative Insurance
(Reporting by Celine Aswad; Editing by Andrew Torchia) ((celine.aswad@thomsonreuters.com; +971 4 4536886; Reuters Messaging: celine.aswad.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))