ADX drops on earnings speculation

Etisalat, decreased 1.3 per cent. National Bank of Abu Dhabi, the country's second-biggest bank by assets known as NBAD, dropped the most in almost 11 months.

Abu Dhabi's ADX General Index declined 1.1 per cent, the most since December 21, to 2,360.96 at the 2 p.m. close in the emirate. The Bloomberg GCC 200 Index slipped 0.5 per cent in Riyadh.

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“There aren't very big expectations from market participants for fourth-quarter results,” said Sebastien Henin, who helps oversee $100 million at The National Investor in Abu Dhabi. “Unless there is a major local catalyst, we expect markets to remain trading sideways.”

Etisalat, the company with the heaviest weighting on Abu Dhabi's stock index, may report earnings on February 9.

The phone company's fourth-quarter income may decline five per cent from the year earlier to Dh1.91 billion ($520 million), according to an estimate by Beltone Financial Holding. Etisalat's third- quarter profit fell one per cent as expenses increased.

The company's shares retreated 1.3 per cent to Dh9.03, the lowest level since December 22. Last year, the stock slumped 15 per cent, compared with a 12 per cent decline in the general index. NBAD fell 3.7 per cent today to Dh10.45. Saudi Arabia's Tadawul All Share Index dropped 0.5 per cent and Qatar's QE Index fell 0.2 per cent. Kuwait's gauge lost 0.5 per cent, Oman's benchmark stock index declined 0.1 per cent and Bahrain's measure decreased 0.3 per cent. The DFM General Index climbed less than 0.1 per cent.