The Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange is leading the Gulf markets downward, and “TASI” is rising for the sixth session

The Abu Dhabi stock market fell today, Thursday, affected by weak earnings of heavyweight companies, while Saudi stocks closed higher with the rise in oil prices.

The Abu Dhabi Securities Market index fell 1.7%, its worst daily performance since September, affected by an 8% drop in the shares of First Abu Dhabi Bank, the largest UAE bank, which recorded its lowest closing price in more than 8 months.

The bank announced a 26% decrease in net profits for the fourth quarter of 2022, contrary to analysts’ expectations, despite an increase in its net profits for the full year by 7%, according to Reuters.

The bank also reduced its annual cash dividend by 26% compared to 2021, to 52 fils per share.

The share of Al-Seer Marine Supplies and Equipment Company fell 1.1% after it announced a decline in its annual net profit to 1.01 billion dirhams, down from 2.52 billion dirhams in the previous year.

The Saudi index rose 0.1%, for the sixth consecutive session, supported by gains in the shares of health care, financial services and raw materials companies, as the share of Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Services Group rose 2%, and the share of the Saudi Arabian Mining Company rose 1.4%.

Al-Rajhi Bank, the world’s largest Islamic bank by market value, also rose 1.4%, extending its gains since last Thursday.

The main index in Dubai recorded a slight increase.

Most of the real estate stocks included in the index fell in Dubai, as the heavyweight Emaar Properties fell 1%. While the shares of the utilities and financing sectors rose, with the share of Emirates Central Cooling Systems Company rising 0.7% and Emirates NBD Bank rising 0.4%.

Emirates NBD, Dubai’s largest lender, announced a 40% jump in 2022 net profit to 13 billion dirhams ($3.5 billion) on Thursday, supported by higher interest rates and transaction volumes that boosted overall income.

The Qatari index fell 0.5%, ending a 5-day winning streak, with most of the index companies declining.

Shares of Qatar International Islamic Bank and Qatar Islamic Bank fell 3.5 and 0.8%, respectively.