Battered oil roils Saudi’s Tadawul index

Dubai: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul index closed more than 1 per cent lower on Sunday due to an 8 per cent fall in oil prices.

The Tadawul index closed 1.25 per cent lower at 7,512.57. The energy index closed 1.96 per cent lower at 4,723.21. The market breadth was negative with declines seen in 147 shares. Alinma Bank closed 0.77 per cent lower at 20.66 Saudi riyals, while Saudi Basic Industries Corp. closed 1.70 per cent lower at 115.40 riyals. Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co. closed 3 per cent lower at 13.28 riyals.

Al Hassan Ghazi Ibrahim Shaker Co. closed 0.34 per cent lower at 8.77 riyals. “The trend still remains strong in Shaker and a break over shall push its way up towards the next target at 9.90 riyals in the short term. Traders may look to book partial profits and balance hold with stop loss trailed higher to the breakeven,” Shiv Prakash, senior analyst with First Abu Dhabi Bank Securities, said in a note.

Dull trends

Dullness persisted in the UAE markets even as sellers toned down their aggressive momentum. The Dubai Financial Market general index closed 0.56 per cent lower at 2,739.38. Emaar Properties recovered from its intra-day low of Dh4.61 on renewed buying interest, before closing 0.63 per cent higher at Dh4.80.

Traded value stood at Dh76 million.

Traders have been resorting to buying in banks. Traders are waiting for a positive news as the Dubai index reached 2,590, a level that triggered aggressive buying in Jan 21, 2016. Emirates NBD, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank Union National Bank and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank have been surging with decent volumes. “ADCB may head towards the next higher targets at Dh8.55/8.75 in the short term,” Prakash said.

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange general index closed 0.77 per cent lower at 4,946.48. Elsewhere in the Gulf, the Muscat MSM 30 index closed 0.63 per cent lower at 4,425.45. The Qatar exchange index closed 0.74 per cent lower at 10,251.62.