Saudi minister’s comments lift Tadawul

Shares across the Arabian Gulf recovered partially after Sunday’s sell-offs, with UAE bourses breaking multi-day losing streaks.

Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul closed up 1.2 per cent, after the country’s oil minister said that it was “not unthinkable” that oil prices could rise to US$60 per barrel by the end of the year.

The rise followed a 2.2 per cent drop on Sunday, led by a sell-off in banking stocks.

Brent crude futures were up by about 1.6 per cent at $52.76 per barrel yesterday afternoon.

The Dubai Financial Market General Index shares broke a five-day losing streak, closing up 0.3 per cent at 3,358.57, even as more shares ended in the red than in the black.

Shares in DIB led big-name gainers, closing up 2.1 per cent at Dh5.28, the biggest one-day gain in more than two weeks.

Trading on the Dubai bourse was dominated by Drake & Scull International, after the construction group announced the appointment of Wael Allen, previously the firm’s chief operating officer, as its new chief executive.

Drake & Scull closed up 7 per cent at 47.4 fils, its largest one-day gain in five months. Shares in fellow construction group Arabtec Holding rose by 0.7 per cent to Dh1.42.

In the capital, the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index ended a quiet day up by 0.5 per cent at 4,387.34, thanks to a last-minute gain by bellwether FGB. NBAD and Etisalat also rose.

Elsewhere in the region, the Qatar Exchange closed up 0.4 per cent, led by Industries Qatar and Qatar Insurance.

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