PHOTO
* Petrochemical shares main drag on Saudi
* Abu Dhabi's Aldar Properties falls despite profit jump
* Blue-chip telcos weigh on UAE bourses
* Qatar bounces on back of large-caps
* Egypt's Palm Hills falls after profit dive
By Celine Aswad
DUBAI, May 10 (Reuters) - Most bourses in the Gulf edged lower on Tuesday after oil prices pulled back overnight, while Egypt's Palm Hills Development tumbled in response to a drop in its profits.
Brent oil futures were trading at $44.11 a barrel, near two-week lows, while MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was near one-month lows.
Petrochemical shares were the main drag on Saudi Arabia's stock index, with bellwether Saudi Basic Industries dropping 0.9 percent. The index fell 0.7 percent.
Saudi Airlines Catering climbed 2.3 percent after saying it had renewed a contract with Oman Air. The three-year contract has a total value of 35 million riyals ($9.33 million) and will be reflected in third-quarter results, the firm said. First-quarter 2016 revenue was 559.2 million riyals.
Earnings at real estate firms have been mixed in the United Arab Emirates but the latest to report, Abu Dhabi's Aldar Properties, posted results above analysts' expectations.
The builder of Abu Dhabi's Formula One circuit reported a 14.1 percent rise in first-quarter net profit to 649.0 million dirhams ($176.7 million); analysts at SICO Bahrain had forecast 453.6 million dirhams. However, the stock fell 1.9 percent.
Abu Dhabi's index pulled back 1.1 percent, also dragged down by a 1.3 percent drop in Etisalat , the largest telecommunications operator.
Etisalat's rival, Dubai-listed du, weighed on Dubai's inde, which edged down 0.1 percent. Shares in du retreated 1.4 percent. But builder Arabtec , which has not yet reported first-quarter earnings, rose 2.1 percent.
QATAR, EGYPT
In Doha, the main index reversed course and ended 0.3 percent higher, lifted by heavyweight property developer Ezdan Holding, which added 2.3 percent. The company released initial price thoughts for an Islamic bond issue of five years duration, a lead manager said on Tuesday.
"Companies are tapping the bond market more and more to raise capital and this bodes well in an environment of still-low interest rates," said a Dubai-based fund manager, adding that appetite for investment-grade bond issues might dwarf institutional fund flows into Gulf equity markets in the next few months.
Egypt's main index gave up early, small gains and edged down 0.3 percent as local traders sold, bourse data showed.
Palm Hills Development tumbled 3.5 percent after reporting on Monday a 40 percent drop in first-quarter net profit to 105 million Egyptian pounds ($11.82 million).
But revenue rose to 1.072 billion pounds from 743 million pounds a year earlier; the company said January's adoption of amendments to Egyptian accounting standards had deferred some profit.
A note by Cairo's Beltone Financial said the results were "solid", adding: "The company has already beaten its pre-set target deliveries for the first quarter, based on management guidance, which we believe is one of the main drivers for unlocking new sales for the company."
Orascom Telecom investors, dropped 4.0 percent.
TUESDAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
SAUDI ARABIA
* The index fell 0.7 percent to 6,644 points.
DUBAI
* The index lost 0.1 percent to 3,312 points.
ABU DHABI
* The index dropped 1.1 percent to 4,427 points.
QATAR
* The index rose 0.3 percent to 9,884 points.
EGYPT
* The index slid 0.3 percent to 7,622 points.
KUWAIT
* The index edged down 0.2 percent to 5,352 points.
OMAN
* The index fell 0.7 percent to 5,979 points.
BAHRAIN
* The index was flat at 1,106 points.
(Editing by Andrew Torchia and Gareth Jones) ((celine.aswad@thomsonreuters.com;+971 562 247 653 Reuters Messaging: celine.aswad.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
* Abu Dhabi's Aldar Properties falls despite profit jump
* Blue-chip telcos weigh on UAE bourses
* Qatar bounces on back of large-caps
* Egypt's Palm Hills falls after profit dive
By Celine Aswad
DUBAI, May 10 (Reuters) - Most bourses in the Gulf edged lower on Tuesday after oil prices pulled back overnight, while Egypt's Palm Hills Development tumbled in response to a drop in its profits.
Brent oil futures were trading at $44.11 a barrel, near two-week lows, while MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was near one-month lows.
Petrochemical shares were the main drag on Saudi Arabia's stock index, with bellwether Saudi Basic Industries dropping 0.9 percent. The index fell 0.7 percent.
Saudi Airlines Catering climbed 2.3 percent after saying it had renewed a contract with Oman Air. The three-year contract has a total value of 35 million riyals ($9.33 million) and will be reflected in third-quarter results, the firm said. First-quarter 2016 revenue was 559.2 million riyals.
Earnings at real estate firms have been mixed in the United Arab Emirates but the latest to report, Abu Dhabi's Aldar Properties, posted results above analysts' expectations.
The builder of Abu Dhabi's Formula One circuit reported a 14.1 percent rise in first-quarter net profit to 649.0 million dirhams ($176.7 million); analysts at SICO Bahrain had forecast 453.6 million dirhams. However, the stock fell 1.9 percent.
Abu Dhabi's index pulled back 1.1 percent, also dragged down by a 1.3 percent drop in Etisalat , the largest telecommunications operator.
Etisalat's rival, Dubai-listed du, weighed on Dubai's inde, which edged down 0.1 percent. Shares in du retreated 1.4 percent. But builder Arabtec , which has not yet reported first-quarter earnings, rose 2.1 percent.
QATAR, EGYPT
In Doha, the main index reversed course and ended 0.3 percent higher, lifted by heavyweight property developer Ezdan Holding, which added 2.3 percent. The company released initial price thoughts for an Islamic bond issue of five years duration, a lead manager said on Tuesday.
"Companies are tapping the bond market more and more to raise capital and this bodes well in an environment of still-low interest rates," said a Dubai-based fund manager, adding that appetite for investment-grade bond issues might dwarf institutional fund flows into Gulf equity markets in the next few months.
Egypt's main index gave up early, small gains and edged down 0.3 percent as local traders sold, bourse data showed.
Palm Hills Development tumbled 3.5 percent after reporting on Monday a 40 percent drop in first-quarter net profit to 105 million Egyptian pounds ($11.82 million).
But revenue rose to 1.072 billion pounds from 743 million pounds a year earlier; the company said January's adoption of amendments to Egyptian accounting standards had deferred some profit.
A note by Cairo's Beltone Financial said the results were "solid", adding: "The company has already beaten its pre-set target deliveries for the first quarter, based on management guidance, which we believe is one of the main drivers for unlocking new sales for the company."
Orascom Telecom investors, dropped 4.0 percent.
TUESDAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
SAUDI ARABIA
* The index fell 0.7 percent to 6,644 points.
DUBAI
* The index lost 0.1 percent to 3,312 points.
ABU DHABI
* The index dropped 1.1 percent to 4,427 points.
QATAR
* The index rose 0.3 percent to 9,884 points.
EGYPT
* The index slid 0.3 percent to 7,622 points.
KUWAIT
* The index edged down 0.2 percent to 5,352 points.
OMAN
* The index fell 0.7 percent to 5,979 points.
BAHRAIN
* The index was flat at 1,106 points.
(Editing by Andrew Torchia and Gareth Jones) ((celine.aswad@thomsonreuters.com;+971 562 247 653 Reuters Messaging: celine.aswad.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
