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Saudi, Egypt fall as markets reopen after weekend

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index dropped 0.8 per cent, extending Thursday’s losses, with Saudi National Bank down 2.6 per cent and oil behemoth Saudi Aramco down 1.4 per cent

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Saudi Arabia’s stock market fell for a second consecutive session on Sunday, under pressure from lower banking and petrochem shares, while Qatar rebounded after falling more than two per cent in the previous session.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index dropped 0.8 per cent, extending Thursday’s losses, with Saudi National Bank down 2.6 per cent and oil behemoth Saudi Aramco down 1.4 per cent.

Aramco, on a par with Apple Inc as the world’s most valuable company, last week reported a net income of $39.5 billion for the quarter to March 31, up from $21.7 billion a year earlier.

Kingdom Holding jumped 9.9 per cent, its biggest daily gain since early June last year, after Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal signed an agreement with sovereign wealth fund PIF to sell 16.87 per cent of his investment in the firm for a total of SR5.68 billion ($1.51 billion).

Qatar’s index, edged up 0.1 per cent, finding some support from financials and energy stocks after dropping more than 2% on Thursday.

Islamic lender Masraf Al Rayan added 1.7 per cent while Qatar Gas Transport Nakilat rose 2.7 per cent.

Germany and Qatar on Friday signed a declaration to deepen their energy partnership, with a focus on trade in hydrogen and liquefied natural gas (LNG), as Europe’s biggest economy looks for alternative supplies amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index ended 0.8 per cent lower as the country’s largest lender, Commercial International Bank, fell 0.7 per cent and Abu Qir Fertilizers was down 2.3 per cent. — Reuters