Dubai: Saudi stocks led regional gains on Thursday, continuing its recent rally as the $17.5 billion bond issue continued to boost sentiment, while UAE stocks closed a little higher.
The Tadawul index closed 1.18 per cent higher at 6,060.46, breaking from a two-day fall in the previous sessions.
“It’s been a continuation of the rally we saw over the last few weeks or so, which wads caused by the Saudi bond issuance, and that caused a surge in confidence,” said Saleem Khokhar, head of equities at NBAD’s asset management group.
“The only thing that could put Saudi markets aggressively higher is the production cuts, but we will have to wait till end of November,” said Khokhar.
The Opec deal, which was discussed in September, has run in a rough patch after Iraq and other countries sought exemptions from an output freeze or a cut. A decision will be taken by the Opec and non-Opec members on November 30.
In stock specific action, banks and petrochemical stocks surged. Saudi Basic Industries closed at 84.25 Saudi Riyals, up 0.84 per cent. Alinma Bank closed more than 3 per cent at 13.85 riyals.
Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co. closed 1.76 per cent higher at 6.70 riyals.
UAE stocks also ended in positive zone. The Dubai Financial Market General Index closed 0.21 per cent higher at 3,298.43. The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index closed 0.40 per cent higher at 4,281.62.
Gulf Finance House closed more than 3 per cent higher at Dh1.29, while Gulf Navigation closed more than 6 per cent to be at Dh1.23.
Elections eyed:
“We have elections coming up in the US, and they would set the tone in the markets generally. If Trump wins, markets would come off a little bit,” Khokhar said. The US presidential elections outcome will be known on November 8.
Elsewhere in the Gulf, the Qatar exchange index closed 1.16 per cent lower at 9,955.99. Muscat Securities MSM 30 index closed 0.16 per cent lower at 5,462.14.
The Kuwait Stock Exchange index closed 0.03 per cent higher at 5,409.36.
