Saudi markets drop a day after Aramco’s debut; other Gulf quiet

Saudi Arabia’s stock market fell on Thursday, reversing most of the previous session’s gains made as state-owned oil giant Aramco debuted on the exchange, while other major Gulf markets were also little changed.

Aramco, however, jumped 8.1 percent, adding to a 10 percent rise on Wednesday. Its shares had been as much as 10 percent higher at 38.7 riyals at Thursday’s market open, implying a market value of $2 trillion, Refinitiv data showed.

Aramco raised $25.6 billion on December 5 through its IPO and plans to exercise a 15 percent greenshoe option in whole or part during the first 30 days of trading. If the option is exercised in full, the total raised from the IPO would amount to $29.4 billion.

The firm is expected to be included in the MSCI emerging markets index on December 17.

Saudi’s benchmark index fell 0.5 percent, with a 1.4 percent drop in Saudi Basic Industries and a 0.5 percent fall in Al Rajhi Bank dragging, while Saudi Telecom lost 1.4 percent after JP Morgan cut its target price on the stock to 108 riyals ($28.80) from 111 riyals.

The Abu Dhabi index was 0.2 percent lower, as market heavyweight First Abu Dhabi Bank eased 0.3 percent and telecoms firm Etisalat dipped 0.1 percent.

The Qatari index also fell 0.2 percent, with the Gulf’s largest lender Qatar National Bank down 0.3 percent and Qatar International Islamic Bank 1.4 percent lower.

In Dubai, the index was up 0.1 percent, with blue-chip developer Dubai Islamic Bank rising 0.4 percent and Dubai Investments 0.8 percent.

Source: Reuters