Saudi stocks continue rebound, rest of Gulf mixed

Saudi Arabia’s stock market continued rebounding early Tuesday after a sharp increase on the previous day, while other Gulf stock markets were narrowly mixed in quiet trade.

Riyadh’s stock index climbed 0.5 percent to 6,232 points in the first half-hour, adding to a 1.7 percent gain on Monday, when oil prices surged as Saudi Arabia and Russia said they would cooperate to support oil prices.

Petrochemical stocks outperformed on Tuesday morning, with Saudi Basic Industries up 1.2 percent, and miner Ma’aden rose 3.2 percent after it said a subsidiary had started trial production at a new ammonia plant.

However, many analysts think the Saudi-Russia deal may do little to boost oil prices in the long term; the two countries did not announce specific steps, and it might be difficult for them to join with other big producers to restrain output.

The Saudi stock index faces technical resistance at 6,226-6,257 points, the lows in early August and June.

Other Gulf markets moved little. Dubai edged down 0.1 percent as Shuaa Capital, which had soared its 15 percent daily limit to a 16-month high on Monday in heavy trade, fell back 1.6 percent.

The Dubai-listed shares of Orascom Construction climbed 0.9 percent in thin trade after its board of directors approved a proposal to buy back up to 1 million of the company’s Cairo-listed shares.

Abu Dhabi’s index slipped 0.3 percent as Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank lost 1.2 percent, while Qatar dropped 0.5 percent as several blue chips pulled back with Islamic lender Masraf Al Rayan, the most heavily traded stock, down 1.2 percent.

Source: Reuters