Saudi stock market continues rebound

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

Riyadh’s stock index climbed 0.5 per cent to 6,232 points in the first half-hour, adding to a 1.7 per cent 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 per cent, and miner Ma’aden rose 3.2 per cent 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 per cent as Shuaa Capital, which had soared its 15 per cent daily limit to a 16-month high on Monday in heavy trade, fell back 1.6 per cent.

The Dubai-listed shares of Orascom Construction climbed 0.9 per cent 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 per cent as Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank lost 1.2 per cent, while Qatar dropped 0.5 per cent as several blue chips pulled back with Islamic lender Masraf Al Rayan, the most heavily traded stock, down 1.2 per cent.

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