Gulf markets await Saudi budget

By Yomna Yasser On Dec 27, 2015

Gulf stock markets may see minimal buying interest Sunday as they await Monday’s announcement of the Saudi Arabian state budget.

Spending cuts and possibly new revenue measures are expected in the Saudi budget and until investors know the extent of them, markets around the region look likely to be cautious.

“Saudi Arabia’s eagerly awaited 2016 budget is likely to influence investor behaviour,” said Sachin Mohindra, portfolio manager at Abu-Dhabi based Invest AD.

Among individual stocks, National Shipping Co of Saudi Arabia (Bahri) may attract interest after it proposed to more than double its annual cash dividend for 2015 to 2.5 riyals – though a higher dividend had been anticipated after Bahri’s earnings rose sharply.

National Commercial Bank recommended paying a cash dividend of 0.75 riyal for the second half of 2015, up from 0.65 riyal in the second half of last year. But Yanbu National Petrochemical Co proposed cutting its second-half cash dividend to 1 riyal from 1.5 riyals.

Source: Reuters

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