Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul hits 2015 high

TADAWUL RISES AS MUCH AS 8,271.29 BEFORE TRADING 1.19% HIGHER AT 8,243

Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul index rose yesterday, extending gains for another session to hit its highest level since August 2015.

The benchmark rose as much as 8,271.29, before paring gains to 8,243.00, ending 1.19 per cent higher for the day. The gauge was supported due to buying in materials and services firms.

Alinma Bank closed more than 1 per cent higher at 21.10 Saudi riyals, while Dar Alarkan Real Estate Development Co closed 0.89 per cent higher at 13.68 riyals.

The Tadawul index, which has gained 13 per cent so far in the year, has been the best performer regionally, dwarfing performance on the Dubai index, which has shed 8.55 per cent since January 1.

Dubai

The Dubai Financial Market General index closed 0.18 per cent lower at 3,082.09.

Emaar Properties closed flat at Dh5.64, after losing more than 3.5 per cent in the previous session.

“The stock currently trading at extremely low valuation levels, is still suffering the negative impact of the Board’s decision to retain dividends for 2017. Investors seem to be selling off the real estate sector which fell by 2.21 per cent, during yesterday’s session, over fears of disruption in supply and demand,” Menacorp said in a note.

Dubai Islamic Bank closed 1.98 per cent lower at Dh5.44. Emaar Development closed more than 2 per cent higher at Dh5.51.

Abu Dhabi

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange general index closed 0.52 per cent higher at 4,706.56. Aldar Properties closed 0.47 lower per cent at Dh2.10. “The rise in foreign ownership limit and the recent launch of its Dh10 billion development Alghadeer do not seem to have major impact on the stock’s performance, as a result of a challenging real estate market,” the note added.

The Qatar exchange index closed 1.56 per cent higher at 9,196.62 while the Muscat MSM 30 index closed 0.16 per cent higher at 4,759.65. The Kuwait index closed 0.09 per cent lower at 4,773.19.