Traders wait at the Bahrain Bourse after Joe Biden won the US presidency, in Manama, Bahrain, Nov. 8, 2020. (Credit: Hamad I Mohammed/Reuters)
Major stock markets in the Gulf retreated on Tuesday, with Saudi Arabia leading the declines following a string of disappointing corporate earnings.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark stock index (.TASI) declined 1.1 percent, with Saudi Arabian Mining Co (1211.SE) plunging 9.6 percent after the company posted a sharp fall in quarterly profit sequentially.
The miner reported a third-quarter net profit of 2.10 billion riyals ($558.96 million), marking a drop of about 48 percent from the previous quarter. However, profit was up 65.3 percent year-on-year.
Among other losers, Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical (2380.SE) tumbled 9.8 percent, as it swung to a quarterly loss.
Shares of Saudi Aramco (2222.SE) were down 0.6 percent, even as the oil behemoth posted a 39 percent jump in its third-quarter net income that beat analysts' forecasts, boosted by higher crude oil prices and volumes sold. The profit was slightly lower in comparison to its record second quarter.
Malaysian state energy firm Petronas said it was studying the damage to interconnecting pipes caused by a fire last week at its refinery and petrochemical joint venture with Aramco.
In March 2020, five people were killed in a fire at the 300,000 barrel-per-day complex, forcing it to close for more than two years. It restarted in May, Reuters reported.
Dubai's main share index retreated 5.8 percent on posting losses for the first nine-month period.
In a separate bourse filing, the firm reported accumulated losses of 2.94 billion dirhams ($800.46 million), 68.52 percent of the company's capital as of end-September.
In Abu Dhabi, the benchmark stock index (.FTFADGI) eased 0.1 percent, hit by a 0.4 percent fall in First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB.AD), the country's biggest lender.
The Qatari index (.QSI) dropped 0.9 percent, with Qatar National Bank (QNBK.QA), the Gulf's biggest lender, down 1.8 percent.
($1 = 3.7570 riyals)
($1 = 3.6729 UAE dirham)
Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu