A rebound in global oil prices and decisions by state-controlled companies to pay cash bonuses to employees boosted Saudi Arabia’s stock market, while other regional bourses were mixed in choppy trading.
Brent crude fell in early trade on news of a US refinery strike and weak Chinese manufacturing data, but bounced back later in the day and traded above US$54 per barrel by the time Saudi Arabia’s market closed.
The Saudi stock index rose 0.8 per cent as the petrochemicyals firm Saudi Basic Industries, the kingdom’s largest listed company, jumped 2.4 per cent; other stocks in the sector also climbed. Petrochemical prices are linked to oil and the sector was hit hard in a sell-off triggered by oil’s plunge last year.
Retailers also performed well. Fawaz Alhokair surged 8.8 per cent and Jarir Marketing jumped 2.6 per cent.
This followed announcements by large companies such as Saudi Electricity and Saudi Telecom that they would pay out hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses to their workers, following last week’s order by the new king that Saudi state employees would receive two months of extra salary to mark his accession.
* Reuters
