U.A.E. Shares Gain on Etisalat Earnings; Saudi's Index Retreats

By Haris Anwar

Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) -- U.A.E. shares rose for the first time in three days as Emirates Telecommunications Corp. reported an increase in third-quarter earnings, boosting sentiment. Saudi Arabia's Index declined.

Etisalat, the largest telecom company in the United Arab Emirates, advanced after saying profit increased 19 percent. Gulf General Investment Co., an investment company, jumped the most since Oct. 14. Emaar Properties PJSC gained for the first time in three days.

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index rose 2.4 percent to 3,446.76. The measure slumped 6.5 percent in the previous two days. The Dubai Financial Market General Index added 0.4 percent.

``We can expect a short-lived rally today,'' said Reda Gomaa, portfolio manager at Mashreq Bank PSC's asset-management arm in Dubai. ``Some of the companies have reported good earnings, and that may shift sentiment to the positive side for a while.''

Etisalat gained 3.7 percent to 15.4 dirhams. The company said third-quarter net income rose to 2.1 billion dirhams ($571.7 million) as it added subscribers.

Saudi's Drop

Gulf General added 8.6 percent to 7.98 dirhams. Emaar, the Middle East's largest real-estate developer, rose 0.7 percent to 5.56 dirhams.

Saudi Arabia's Tadawul All Share Index lost 3.8 percent to 6,258.32, bringing the two-day slump to 8.8 percent.

Saudi Basic Industries Corp. dropped 8.7 percent to 86.75 riyals. The biggest company in the Persian Gulf by market value said third-quarter profit fell 2.2 percent from a year earlier, the first annual decline since the second quarter of 2006.

``Sabic earnings have disappointed some investors,'' Faisal Hasan, head of research at Global Investment House KSCC, said in a telephone interview from Kuwait. ``That's causing some selling pressure on the Saudi market. I feel this market has seen a lot of battering these days, and we're getting close to the bottom.''

The Kuwait Stock Exchange Index dropped 2.7 percent and Oman's Muscat Securities Market 30 Index retreated 0.4 percent. In Qatar, the DSM 20 Index advanced 1.3 percent and the Bahrain All Share Index gained 0.4 percent.

The following stocks also rose or fell in the region. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names:

Al-Khaleej Insurance & Reinsurance Co. (AKHI QD): The Qatari provider of non-life cover surged 5.1 percent to 55.8 riyals after it said nine-month profit doubled to 108.6 million riyals ($30 million).

Oman United Insurance Co. (OUIS OM), the Gulf state's second-biggest insurer, lost 5.2 percent to 0.202 rial as it posted a 27 percent decline in nine-month profit.

Shuaa Capital PSC (SHUAA UH), the biggest investment bank in the U.A.E., tumbled 8.5 percent to 2.91 dirhams after posting a loss in the first half.

United Industries Co. (UIC KK), an industrial investment unit of Kuwait Projects Co., plunged 6 percent to 158 fils after reporting a loss of 200,492 dinars ($752,177) in the third quarter.

To contact the reporter on this story Haris Anwar in Dubai on Hanwar2@bloomberg.net