Tadawul index drops by 0.6%

Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul Al-Share Index fell 0.6 percent Wednesday to 6,432 points as National Commercial Bank lost 2.9 percent after its board recommended a cash dividend of SR0.60 per share for the first half, down from SR0.80 a year earlier.
Abdullah Al-Othaim dropped 1.5 percent after posting a 9.6 percent drop in quarterly profit, citing higher personnel and promotional expenses as well as rises in transport and electricity costs.
Saudi Basic Industries gained 1.8 percent before the release of its second-quarter earnings, expected after the close.
Retailer Fawaz Abdulaziz Alhokair Co. gained 2.6 percent after reporting a 0.9 percent year-on-year rise in quarterly profit to SR212.6 million ($56.7 million). 
It cited the contribution of new stores and demand during Ramadan.
Dubai’s index fell 0.9 percent to 3,510 points in a broad-based decline. Emaar Properties lost 0.3 percent to 6.88 dirhams; since last week it has been unsuccessfully testing chart resistance on its October peak of 7.01 dirhams.
Logistics company Aramex rose 1.3 percent after jumping 5.5 percent on Tuesday. After the close on Tuesday, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources, that founder Fadi Ghandour had sold his entire 9.9 percent stake in the firm to Gulf investors including Emaar chairman Mohamed Alabbar. Dubai exchange data on Wednesday showed no such ownership change.
Qatar’s index rose 0.6 percent to 10,605 points as Qatar Islamic Bank , which beat forecasts with its second-quarter earnings last week, surged 2.9 percent in the market’s heaviest trade.

Source: Arab News