The Saudi index rose today, Sunday, in response to the rise in crude oil prices late last week, while the scale of the Qatari index’s losses widened due to profit-taking operations.
The Saudi index rose 0.5% for the ninth out of ten sessions, driven by a 3.6% jump in Al-Rajhi Bank.
On Thursday, Brent crude futures rose $2.92, or 2.68%, to $111.79 a barrel before a long weekend after news that the European Union may impose a ban on Russian oil imports.
as edited Fitch Ratings Agency, its outlook for Saudi Arabia to “positive” from “stable” on Thursday, citing improvements in the kingdom’s budget after rising oil revenues.
Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan said in December that the kingdom was expected to post its first budget surplus in nearly a decade this year if it tightened spending while revenue continued to flow, buoyed by higher crude oil prices.
In Qatar, the index fell 0.9%, extending losses recorded in the previous session, after reaching a record high level last week, under pressure from profit-taking operations.
Qatar Islamic Bank fell 2.5%, and Qatar National Bank 2.1%.
Outside the Gulf region, the main index of the Egyptian Stock Exchange rose slightly by 0.3%, led by a 1.9% increase in Commercial International Bank shares after an increase in first-quarter profits. Shares of EFG Hermes recovered and rose 1.6 percent.
Shares of Hermes plunged about a fifth in the previous session, its biggest percentage loss in nearly 16 years, after First Abu Dhabi Bank withdrew an offer to buy a controlling stake in the Egyptian investment group.
First Abu Dhabi, the largest bank in the Emirates, attributed the reason for the withdrawal to uncertainty in global markets and turmoil in macroeconomic conditions.
Abu Qir Fertilizers and Chemical Industries’ shares fell more than 2% after the company revised its annual dividend distribution to one Egyptian pound from two pounds earlier.
In terms of market indices in Saudi Arabia, the index rose 0.5% to 13,682 points, in Qatar the index decreased 0.9% to 13,995 points, Egypt the index increased 0.3% to 10,708 points, and in Bahrain the index settled at 2,102 points.
In Oman, the index rose 0.5% to 4,258 points, and in Kuwait, the index fell 0.1% to 9,168 points.