24/05/2011
Banks and petrochemicals weigh on Tadawul
Banks and petrochemicals weighed on Saudi Arabia’s index, which eased from Sunday’s four-month high amid declining oil prices.
The main benchmark ended 0.7 percent lower, snapping a four-session winning streak as eight of the 10 largest stocks by market value fell.
The top two sectors declined, with the banking index down 0.9 percent and petrochemicals falling 0.7 percent.
Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) and Al-Rajhi Bank fell 0.2 and 0.7 percent respectively.
Crude oil futures slipped more than $3 on Monday due to the peripheral euro zone’s debt crisis, which pushed the dollar to a two-month high versus the euro and knocked broader equity markets lower.
Doubts about Europe’s ability to manage its debt hammered markets on Monday, knocking the euro to its lowest in two months and dragging down equities in Europe and the US.
“Unfortunately, the world has the following to worry about now: US debt ceiling, Euro zone issues, commodities bust, potential economic slowdown and a whirl of confusion,” said Haissam Arabi, chief executive at Gulfmena Alternative Investments.
Tabreed slumping 10 percent to a five-week low, after the district cooling firm’s share dilution, which involved issuing 415.68 million shares to repay a bond.
Most stocks ended lower, with Emaar Properties and Dubai Financial Market falling 3.2 and 4 percent respectively.
