A dip in crude oil took the Saudi equity index lower in its final hour of trade yesterday.
Saudi Arabia’s index fell 0.4%, after briefly trading in positive territory earlier.
Petrochemical shares tugged the index lower as Brent crude oil prices, which were trading above $54 a barrel earlier in the day fell to about $53.50 as the Opec meeting was under way in Vienna to discuss an extension to the production cuts.
Domestic-consumer related shares however, were relatively resilient with apparel and mall operator Alhokair adding 0.5%.
During the holy month of Ramadan, which is likely to start on Saturday, and the Eid al-Fitr holidays, typically people tend to spend more time and money shopping.
Dubai’s index lost 0.7%, a fresh six month low, as investors booked profits and sold shares in companies that may suffer from the slower summer months which sees very high temperatures.
DXB Entertainments dropped 2.8% and the theme park and hotel operator has now declined heavily in seven of the last 11 trading sessions.
Emaar Properties, the builder of the tallest tower in the world, and Emaar Malls Group, its retail arm and operator of one of the largest malls in the region, each closed 0.4% lower.
In Abu Dhabi, the index edged down 0.3% with the main drag coming from blue chips.
Telecommunications operator Etisalat fell 0.3% and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank dropped 0.8%.
Cairo’s index joined other emerging markets heading higher and rose 1.6%, recovering fully from the heavy losses earlier in the week after the central bank raised interest rates by two percentage points unexpectedly.
The largest listed bank Commercial International Bank, and constituent of the MSCI emerging market index, jumped 3.0%. Investment bank EFG Hermes climbed 2.6%.
Elsewhere in the Gulf, Kuwait’s index lost 0.2% to 6,688 points; Bahrain’s index was flat at 1,314 points, while Oman’s index edged up 0.2% to 5,403 points.
A Saudi investor monitors share prices at the Saudi Stock Exchange, or Tadawul (file). Saudi Arabia’s index fell 0.4% yesterday, after briefly trading in positive territory earlier.
