Gulf investors will be stock-picking amid the third-quarter earnings season in most markets, while upbeat global markets may lend support to sentiment.
Asian shares rose on Tuesday after rallies in US stocks and positive US data cheered investors. Earnings from Citigroup, the third-largest US bank, as well as retail sales data strongly beat expectations.
Brent futures held steady above US$115 on Tuesday, underpinned by supply concerns after the European Union slapped more sanctions on Iran.
This is expected to keep investors wary, with dampened global growth still a concern.
“Investors will tread cautiously – you have Q3 and weakness in oil price to pay attention to,” says a Dubai-based trader who asked not to be identified.
In Oman, shares in Bank Muscat are likely to be supported after the country’s largest lender by market capitalisation posted a 19.7 percent increase in third-quarter net profit, Reuters calculated, beating analyst estimates.
“Bank Muscat’s results were very much in line with our estimates… operating expenses increased but no quarterly growth was seen, which sends out a positive signal,” Naveed Ahmed, senior financial analyst at Global Investment House, says in a note.
In Kuwait, telecoms group Wataniya will be in focus after saying it wants internet services to provide a quarter of revenue within two years, as it facing fierce competition from rival mobile companies.
Elsewhere, Bahrain Telecommunications Co (Batelco) wants to increase its holdings in affiliate firms, its chief executive said, as the former monopoly seeks to maximize its control and the returns from the operations.
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