Shares in Saudi Arabian telecommunications operator Mobily extended their bull run in early trade on Monday, supporting the kingdom’s market. Egypt’s bourse was also slightly positive.
Mobily surged 4.0 per cent to 44.20 riyals, having jumped its daily 10 per cent limit in the two previous sessions after a week-long suspension triggered by its 2014 earnings revisions.
But the stock pulled back from its intra-day high of 46.20 riyals on Monday, which could indicate the price is peaking.
Mobily shares have been rising on hopes that the company will recover after the earnings debacle and receive some state support if necessary, as was the case with its smaller competitor Zain Saudi which had its tax payments deferred in 2013, helping it navigate a heavy debt repayment schedule.
Saudi Arabia’s government owns a 11.8 per cent stake in Mobily and the firm’s new chairman, Suliman bin Abdulrahman al-Gwaiz, is also governor of a huge state-owned fund, the General Organization for Social Insurance.
Other stocks were mixed and Saudi Arabia’s main index inched up 0.1 per cent. Al Jouf Agricultural Development Co and Aldrees Petroleum and Transport Services dropped 2.3 and 2.8 per cent, respectively as they went ex-dividend.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s stock index climbed 0.3 per cent. Egypt Kuwaiti Holding, which has assets in fertilisers, petrochemicals and the oil and gas sector, rose 1.5 per cent.
Brokerage Sigma Capital said in a note last week that it expected the company’s performance to improve this year after its profit fell sharply in the fourth quarter of 2014.
“Given the expected relative improvement in global oil prices and natural gas supplies to energy-intensive industries, this is expected to be positively reflected on the stock’s operations in 2015,’’ it said.