TASI grinds lower; Kayan drops despite Q2 profit beat

Saudi Arabia’s stocks fell for the second straight day on Tuesday following a few quarterly earnings announcements that failed to enthuse investors.

The Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) closed 0.5 percent lower at 7,255 amid volumes of SAR 2.8 billion. The advances- declines ratio was 51/120.

Nearly all sectors closed lower, with blue chips SABIC and Al Rajhi Bank slipping to SAR 65.50 and SAR 100 respectively.

Saudi Kayan closed 2 percent lower at SAR 8.94. The petrochemical maker said its second-quarter net profit surged to SAR 242 million from SAR 97.3 million a year ago, easily beating the average analyst estimate of SAR 192 million.

Nitin Garg, analyst at Bahrain-based SICO, told Argaam that: “All the good news for Saudi Kayan has already been priced in. Plus, the second half is likely to be challenging as the company is looking at multiple shutdowns.”

Qassim Cement closed slightly lower at SAR 48.35. It reported a Q2 profit of SAR 53 million compared with SAR 113.9 million a year ago; below most analysts’ expectations.

NCB Capital believes “the weakness came from lower sales quantities due to the construction slowdown, [and] weak margins due to revised fuel support levels and prices.”

Saudi Research and Marketing Group, which has seen its stock price double over the past one month, fell to profit-booking.  It closed 8 percent lower at SAR 54.

Meanwhile, National Company for Glass Industries (Zoujaj) was the top gainer, up maximum to SAR 21.10. The company said its Q2 net profit jumped to SAR 37.6 million versus SAR 11.6 million in the year-ago period. Riyad Capital had predicted a 68 percent rise.

Jouf Cement closed 5 percent higher at SAR 7.72. Its shareholders approved a 10 percent capital increase via a bonus share issue.

Write to Brinda Darasha at brinda.d@argaamplus.com