PHOTO
* Saudi's Alinma Bank sinks after Q3 misses estimates
* BUPA Arabia, Najran Cement also hit by earnings
* GFH Financial, Drake & Scull buck Dubai's fall
* QNB makes Qatar the only Gulf market to rise
* Beltone suspended, then resumes trade in Egypt
By Andrew Torchia
DUBAI, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's stock market fell on Monday after another set of disappointing third-quarter earnings, while other markets in the region were also weak, in line with the global trend.
The Saudi index
.TASI
slipped 1.2 percent as Alinma Bank
1150.SE
, the most heavily traded stock, dropped 2.9 percent.
Alinma was the latest in a string of Saudi banks to report weak quarterly earnings as the slow economy increases impairment charges on loans; it posted a 16.8 percent fall in third-quarter net profit to 312 million riyals ($83.2 million). Analysts had on average forecast 409.1 million riyals.
Medical insurer BUPA Arabia
8210.SE
, which had dropped 4.7 percent on Sunday after posting an 8.9 percent drop in its third-quarter net income, fell a further 2.9 percent. Najran Cement
3002.SE
lost 3.1 percent after reporting a 52 percent year-on-year drop in third-quarter net profit.
Petrochemicals generally outperformed, with top producer Saudi Basic Industries
2010.SE
, which is expected to report quarterly earnings in the next few days, dropping only 0.6 percent.
Saudi Company for Hardware
4008.SE
was one of the few gainers, rising 2.3 percent after reporting a 10.1 percent rise in quarterly net profit.
Dubai's stock index
.DFMGI
fell 0.9 percent in a broad-based decline, although the two most heavily traded stocks, GFH Financial
GFH.DU
and builder Drake & Scull
DSI.DU
, rose 3.9 percent and 1.1 percent.
Abu Dhabi's index
.ADI
sank 2.2 percent because of a steep decline by First Gulf Bank
FGB.AD
, which lost 4.9 percent. Kuwait's top bank was also weak; National Bank of Kuwait
NBKK.KW
lost 1.7 percent after reporting a 6.4 percent rise in third-quarter net profit that was in line with estimates.
The only Gulf market to gain was Qatar
.QSI
, which rose 0.6 percent on the back of Qatar National Bank's
QNBK.QA
1.5 percent gain. The bank reported a 10 percent rise in third-quarter profit last week.
Egypt's index
.EGX30
lost 2.2 percent as investment bank EFG Hermes
HRHO.CA
pulled back 2.9 percent.
Shares in Beltone Financial
BFH.CA
were briefly suspended and then resumed trading after the stock's fair value was mis-stated in a report given to the financial regulator on Sunday. They last traded at 10.71 pounds, level with Sunday's
The stock has been dogged by controversy. In August, Egypt's regulator requested that Beltone appoint a third party to assess the fair market value of its stock after it jumped more than 550 percent. In June, Beltone filed a lawsuit against the heads of the Cairo stock exchange and the financial regulator over the repeated cancellation of trades in its stock
urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1CN39S
.
MONDAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
SAUDI ARABIA
* The index
.TASI
dropped 1.2 percent to 5,565 points.
DUBAI
* The index
.DFMGI
fell 0.9 percent to 3,272 points.
ABU DHABI
* The index
.ADI
sank 2.2 percent to 4,220 points.
QATAR
* The index
.QSI
rose 0.6 percent to 10,426 points.
EGYPT
* The index
.EGX30
lost 2.2 percent to 8,243 points.
KUWAIT
* The index
.KWSE
fell 0.4 percent to 5,287 points.
OMAN
* The index
.MSI
dropped 1.2 percent to 5,581 points.
BAHRAIN
* The index
.BAX
slipped 0.3 percent to 1,138 points. (Editing by Larry King) ((andrew.torchia@thomsonreuters.com; +9715 6681 7277; Reuters Messaging: andrew.torchia.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
* BUPA Arabia, Najran Cement also hit by earnings
* GFH Financial, Drake & Scull buck Dubai's fall
* QNB makes Qatar the only Gulf market to rise
* Beltone suspended, then resumes trade in Egypt
By Andrew Torchia
DUBAI, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's stock market fell on Monday after another set of disappointing third-quarter earnings, while other markets in the region were also weak, in line with the global trend.
The Saudi index
Alinma was the latest in a string of Saudi banks to report weak quarterly earnings as the slow economy increases impairment charges on loans; it posted a 16.8 percent fall in third-quarter net profit to 312 million riyals ($83.2 million). Analysts had on average forecast 409.1 million riyals.
Medical insurer BUPA Arabia
Petrochemicals generally outperformed, with top producer Saudi Basic Industries
Saudi Company for Hardware
Dubai's stock index
Abu Dhabi's index
The only Gulf market to gain was Qatar
Egypt's index
Shares in Beltone Financial
The stock has been dogged by controversy. In August, Egypt's regulator requested that Beltone appoint a third party to assess the fair market value of its stock after it jumped more than 550 percent. In June, Beltone filed a lawsuit against the heads of the Cairo stock exchange and the financial regulator over the repeated cancellation of trades in its stock
MONDAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
SAUDI ARABIA
* The index
DUBAI
* The index
ABU DHABI
* The index
QATAR
* The index
EGYPT
* The index
KUWAIT
* The index
OMAN
* The index
BAHRAIN
* The index