Saudi stocks advance, rest of region quiet

Saudi Arabia’s stock market extended gains at Wednesday’s early trade, outperforming regional markets where local retail investors were the main participants.

Riyadh’s index added 1 percent in the first 45 minutes of trade, inching closer to technical resistance at the July peak of 6,703 points.

Petrochemicals and banking stocks, which have been outperforming other sectors over the past month, strengthened. Saudi Basic Industries added 1.2 percent while Banque Saudi Fransi gained 2.4 percent.

Domestic-focused shares were robust, recovering from losses in recent days. Electronics and bookstore operator Jarir Marketing and medical insurer Medgulf were both up by 1.9 percent.

Dubai’s main stock index edged up by 0.1 percent with the majority of turnover coming from small and mid-sized companies. National Central Cooling jumped 5.5 percent but healthcare provider Amanat Holdings dropped by 3 percent.

Most blue-chip stocks, favoured by foreign funds, were relatively quiet. Emaar Properties was down 0.5 percent.

Abu Dhabi’s index gained 0.2 percent as top lenders diverged. First Gulf Bank rose 1.3 percent but Union National Bank (UNB) pulled back 2.1 percent and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) eased by 0.8 percent.

Trading has been volatile in the shares of UNB and ADCB over the past week on rumours that they intend to merge. Both have denied that they are planning a deal.

Qatar’s main index dipped by 0.2 percent, with losers outnumbering gainers nine to one. Oil drilling company Gulf International Services fell by 1 percent.

Source: Reuters