Saudi falls in early trading after account of Khashoggi death

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s stock index was down 3.5 per cent in early trading yesterday after the kingdom said Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi died in a fight at its consulate in Istanbul.

Al Rajhi Bank fell 2.4 per cent, while Saudi Basic Industries Corp dropped 3.7 per cent. The Saudi index slumped as much as 3.5 per cent in early trading, before reducing losses later in the morning.

US President Donald Trump joined European leaders on Saturday in pushing Saudi Arabia for more answers about Jamal Khashoggi after Riyadh acknowledged that the journalist died more than two weeks ago at its consulate in Istanbul.

The drop in Saudi stocks follows falls in the index early last week because of concern the Khashoggi case could trigger US sanctions against Riyadh and shrink inflows of foreign investment. The market stabilised later in the week as statelinked Saudi funds bought blue chips in a support operation.

Other regional markets also opened down. Dubai’s main index slipped 0.8 per cent, with Dubai Islamic Bank falling 2.1 per cent and market bellwether Emaar Properties dropping 0.8 per cent.

In Abu Dhabi, First Abu Dhabi Bank slipped 1.4 per cent, while Emirates Telecommunications Group (Etisalat) dipped 0.6 per cent. Abu Dhabi’s main index was down one per cent.

In Qatar, Masraf Al Rayan fell 0.5 per cent, while Barwa Real Estate Co sank 0.7 per cent. The index was little changed, 0.1 per cent down. — Reuters