Mid-East Stocks Rebound, Led by Banking Share Gains

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Shares in the Saudi Arabia stock market tracked rebounds on Sunday, mainly boosted by advances in banking shares, while other major indexes followed with mostly rising shares during the early trade as well.

The benchmark index in Saudi Arabia tracked about 0.9% increase, following the 5.5% gains for the Alinma bank after the increase in capital through bonus shares that the board proposed.

On its third day of trading, the most valuable stock in the global market, Saudi Aramco, also tracked a 1.5% increase in the share price. Further, the Saudi Aramco shares are expected to be listed under the Tadawul index this week as well as in other global benchmark indexes including the FTSE and MSCI.

According to analysts, the expected listing of Saudi Aramco stocks on global benchmark indexes will boost further demand on its shares, especially from passive market players who are tracking such indexes.

On December 5, Saudi Aramco hares gained $25.6 billion for its IPO and are now considered the most valuable listed company in the market, dethroning the $25 billion IPO of the Chinese behemoth Alibaba.

Back on shares, the Saudi Industrial Services also recorded a 1.4% increase early on Sunday, following the regulatory approval the firm’s unit was able to secure. The said approval is for a new grant to build and manage the Jeddah Islamic Port’s whole northern portion.

Etihad Etisalat also tracked a 1.2% advance following its signing of the Murabaha facility refinancing along with a group of banks in Saudi Arabia, which is valued by around 7.6 billion riyals.

Other indexes in the middle east stock market were mostly optimistic as well, with the Qatari index-tracking an advance of about 0.4%. The recent gains for the index were primarily strengthened by the 1% advance in the largest lender in the Gulf, the Qatar National Bank. The 0.9% increase in shares of the Qatar Fuel helped the index reach its gains as well.

Stock in Dubai leaned in on the uptrend as well, with the benchmark index rising to about 0.3%, allowing it to extend its gains for four consecutive days now. The Dubai Islamic Bank, a sharia-compliant lender, also tracked a hefty 1.1% increase on share price, while the Emaar properties went up by 0.5%.

The Abu Dhabi index was also in on the increasing momentum for the day as it inched higher by around 0.1%. The gains in the index were mostly powered by the 0.2% increase in the shares of telecoms company Etisalat and the 0.1% advance of the First Abu Dhabi Bank.