Petrochemicals boost Saudi

Stock markets in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar fell yesterday with banking shares leading the way, but petrochemicals helped Saudi Arabia buck the trend.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index reversed earlier losses to close up 0.1 per cent, with Saudi Basic Industries gaining 1.3pc and state-owned Aramco 0.4pc higher at 35.4 riyals ($9.44). On Tuesday, Aramco said IPO bookrunner Goldman Sachs may make additional purchases of the oil giant’s shares to support the price of the stock.

The so-called stabilisation period will end on Jan. 9, but so far no transactions have been executed. Yanbu National Petrochemicals (Yansab) fell 1.8pc after its board proposed a lower second-half dividend this year. In Abu Dhabi, the index slipped 1pc with the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) largest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank down 1.2pc and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank off 0.9pc.

Telecoms firm Etisalat decreased 1.2pc. Dubai’s index fell 0.3pc with the country’s largest sharia-compliant lender Dubai Islamic Bank and Dubai Investments shedding 0.9pc and 1.5pc, respectively. The UAE’s central bank on Wednesday said it expected gross domestic product to increase by 2pc in the fourth quarter from the same period last year, state news agency WAM reported.

The Qatari index edged down 0.2pc with Qatar Islamic Bank ending 0.7pc lower and Qatar National Bank 0.5pc lower. However, the index found some support from Commercial Bank, which leapt 4.2pc. Egypt ’s blue-chip index traded 1pc higher with gainers outnumbering losers. Commercial International bank rose 1.8pc and Cairo for Investment and Real Estate Development jumped 4.3pc.

Egypt’s current account deficit narrowed to $1.382 billion in July to September 2019 from $2.012 billion in the same period a year earlier, central bank data showed on Wednesday. Net foreign direct investment inflows during the period, which is the first quarter of Egypt’s 2019/2020 financial year, rose to $2.353 billion from $1.415 billion a year earlier.