Net profit was 3.75% higher than in the fourth quarter, and the company said it will pay $19.5 billion in dividends for the first-quarter.
Among other gainers, National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia advanced 2.6% after reporting a steep rise in quarterly profit. Dubai's main share index rose 0.4%, with budget airliner Air Arabia putting on more than 2% a day after reporting a sharp increase in quarterly profit. Dubai's main airport registered a 55.8% increase in passenger traffic in the first quarter of this year compared to last year, reaching 95.6% of 2019 pre-pandemic levels, operator Dubai Airports said on Tuesday. In Abu Dhabi, the index fell 0.2%, hit by a 1.3% fall in in Alpha Dhabi Holding . Oil prices - a key catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets - fell relinquishing some of the strong gains of the previous two sessions with the market cautious ahead of U.S. inflation figures for April, which will be key to the Federal Reserve's next interest rate decision. In Qatar, the index eased 0.1%, on course to snap a 9-day winning streak, weighed down by a 1.2% decline in the Gulf's biggest lender Qatar National Bank . ($1 = 3.7501 riyals) (Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru)
