(Bloomberg) — Traders taking profit from Kuwait’s longest-winning streak since at least 2016 sent the nation’s main stock index to its first loss this month.
The gauge declined less than 0.1%, led by National Bank of Kuwait and HumanSoft Holding. While a favorable deposit shift for lenders in the country may boost second-quarter margins from lows in the previous quarter, they will stay below 2018 and might slow profits, said Edmond Christou, a financials analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence.
Still, “the implementation of the Kuwait government’s multiyear development plan, which has been essential for the acceleration of infrastructure projects and supporting the delivery of Vision 2035, will drive private-sector credit growth,” Christou wrote in a report. “The National Bank of Kuwait has gained the most from infrastructure financing thanks to its scale and capabilities.”
Equity gauges in Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Israel advanced, while those in Oman, Qatar and Egypt fell as investors track second-quarter results throughout the region.
MIDDLE EASTERN MARKETS:
- Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index gains 0.5% on Sunday in Riyadh
- Jarir Marketing falls 1.5% after it reported profit for the second quarter of 169.1m riyals, below the lowest of three analyst estimates
- Kuwait’s main equities index drops as much as 0.4%. It posted the first decline in 12 sessions
- Gauge is still up 29% this year, more than any other in the Middle East, North Africa
- Egypt’s central bank kept the benchmark interest rate steady last week, opting to assess the impact of new round of subsidy cuts even as annual inflation hit a three-year low
- The EGX 30 lost 1%, trimming gains this year to 4.9%
