The performance of banking shares weighed on Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) on Sunday after the largest listed bank reported profits below analysts’ expectations, while indexes for other markets in the region also fell.
TASI fell 1.1 percent as National Commercial Bank (NCB) tumbled 5.6 percent after reporting a third-quarter net profit of SR1.96 billion ($523 million), down 1.6 percent from the same period of 2015. Three analysts had on average forecast a quarterly profit of SR2.31 billion.
NCB, like most other Saudi banks that have already reported quarterly results, cited higher costs, including a rise in impairments on financings and investments. The bank is a key lender to Saudi Arabia’s construction sector.
Just over half of the country’s listed banks have now reported third-quarter results, with earnings generally flat or lower and the sector index was down 1.6 percent on Sunday.
Weak earnings at some mid-sized companies in other sectors also hit share prices, with medical insurer BUPA Arabia retreating 4.7 percent after posting an 8.9 percent drop in its third-quarter net income.

Source: Arab News