The Saudi stock market is rising, supported by oil gains
The Saudi stock market rose on Sunday, benefiting from the rise in oil prices on Friday, while most other markets in the Gulf declined due to global economic concerns.
Oil prices stabilized at an increase of about $ 3 a barrel on Friday, achieving gains for the second week in a row, after Moscow said that it may cut crude production in response to the imposition of a price ceiling by the Group of Seven on Russian oil exports.
RIA news agency quoted Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak as saying on Friday that Moscow could cut its oil production by between 5 and 7 percent in early 2023 as part of its response to the price ceiling for its oil.
The main index in Saudi Arabia rose 0.2%, ending two sessions of losses, supported by a 1.9% rise in the share of Retal Urban Development and an increase of 1% in the share of Al-Rajhi Bank, according to Reuters.
Daniel Takieddine, CEO of the Middle East and North Africa at BD Suisse, said the Saudi stock market may maintain a stronger position this week if oil prices continue to rise.
“However, price corrections could still pose a threat,” he added.
The amount of shares traded in the Saudi stock market today amounted to about 79.7 million shares, with a trading value of 1.97 billion riyals, in which the shares of 81 companies recorded an increase in their value, while the shares of 125 companies out of a total of 221 companies declined.
A financial market analyst, Hamad Al-Olayan, said that the weak liquidity in the Saudi market indicates an unwillingness to buy or sell.
Olayan added, in an interview with Al-Arabiya, that this behavior of investors has not been repeated for 15 years.
He pointed out that there is no desire to sell in the Saudi market, pointing out that whoever owns stocks today believes that stock prices have reached historical “bottoms” or areas of saturation in downward operations.
The Qatar Stock Exchange index, which is among the largest exporters of liquefied natural gas in the world, fell 0.6%, affected by a 1.2% decline in the share of Qatar Islamic Bank.
According to Taqi El-Din, the Qatari market witnessed additional corrections in prices after stopping last week, as natural gas prices remained very volatile.
The Amman Stock Exchange fell 0.2%, the Kuwait Stock Exchange fell 0.4%, while the Bahrain Stock Exchange rose 0.4%.
Outside the Gulf region, the Egyptian Stock Exchange’s leading index fell by 0.7%, extending losses from the previous session.
