Gulf markets edge down at opening

Gulf markets opened lower on Wednesday as financials weighed on Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabian shares, while Qatar and Dubai were slightly down.

Abu Dhabi’s index was down 0.5 per cent, pulled down by a 0.4 per cent drop in First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) and a 0.6 per cent decline in Emirates Telecom (Etisalat).

Saudi Arabia shares index were down 0.3 per cent with Samba Financial Group falling 1.7 per cent and National Commercial Bank shedding 0.8 per cent, reports Reuters.

Jarir Marketing was up 2.3 per cent on the Saudi bourse after reporting an estimated 10 per cent increase in second quarter profit.

In Dubai, the index was down 0.1 per cent with major developers Emaar Properties falling 1.0 per cent and DAMAC Properties 0.9 per cent lower.

The Dubai real estate sector has been a drag on the exchange this year with analysts expecting weak property values to fall further on excess supply.

Qatar shares were down 0.1 per cent as Commercial Bank fell 1.5 per cent and Qatar National Bank (QNB) was 0.3 per cent lower.

Bahrain-based broker SICO said in a report QNB could post a net profit of 3.47 billion riyals ($952.90 million) in the second quarter, little changed from a year earlier based on a consensus estimate.