Mideast Stocks: Saudi underperforms Gulf markets on weak earnings

Mideast Stocks: Saudi underperforms Gulf markets on weak earnings

Saudi Arabia's stock market ended lower on Tuesday underperforming Gulf peers following a slew of disappointing corporate earnings, while the Dubai index extended losses for a second session.

The benchmark index in Saudi Arabia dropped 1.2%, dragged down by a 1.3% fall in Retal Urban Development Co and a 9.9% plunge in Saudi Arabia Mining Co (Ma'aden).

Ma'aden - which saw its biggest intraday fall since December 2014 - reported a third-quarter net profit of 2.10 billion riyals ($559 million), marking a drop of about 48% from the previous quarter. However, profit was up 65.3% year-on-year.

Elsewhere, Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical tumbled 9.8%, hitting a 18-month low, as it swung to a quarterly loss. Shares of Saudi Aramco eased 0.1%, even as the oil behemoth posted a 39% 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.

Among other losers, Middle East Co For Manufacturing And Producing Paper finished 7.9% lower, after reporting weak third-quarter results. Dubai's main share index fell 0.1%, with blue-chip developer Emaar Properties losing 1.5% and a 3.1% decline in Union Properties on posting losses for the first