Bounce in oil supports Saudi stocks in otherwise weak Gulf

Petrochemical shares supported Saudi Arabia’s stock index in early trade Thursday after crude oil prices bounced back, although other Gulf markets lost ground.

Riyadh’s index rose 0.3 percent in the first 30 minutes with Saudi Basic Industries, the largest petrochemical producer, gaining 0.9 percent and Yanbu National Petrochemicals (Yansab) adding 1.1 percent.

Brent crude climbed 1.5 percent to above $48.70 a barrel after U.S. crude inventories surprisingly plunged last week in their largest weekly drawdown for over three decades.

Dubai’s main index nudged up 0.1 percent in very low volume with Shuaa Capital adding 1.9 percent. Shares in the investment firm have been outperforming since last week, when the company started offering market-making facilities to investors in Nasdaq Dubai’s single stock futures contracts.

But construction firm Drake & Scull pulled back 1.9 percent, extending Wednesday’s 1.7 percent loss.

Abu Dhabi’s index edged down 0.3 percent as most actively traded shares moved little. First Gulf Bank lost 0.8 percent.

Qatar’s index dropped 0.7 percent as some shares continued to lag after outperforming last month in anticipation of their inclusion in index compiler FTSE’s secondary emerging market index on Sept. 20. Islamic lender Masraf Al Rayan lost 0.9 percent to 35.20 riyals after hitting a high of 39.40 riyals last month.

Source: Reuters