Blowback from Khashoggi case rocks Tadawul

INDEX CLOSES 1.29% LOWER AMID UNUSUAL VOLATILITY AFTER ERDOGAN’S ACCOUNT

Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index fell in early trade, before recovering midsession only to dip again to close more than a per cent lower yesterday, indicating nervous sentiment among traders after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave details of the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the parliament.

The Tadawul oscillated in the 150-point range — between a high of 7,701.11 and a low of 7,514.84 — before slipping 1.29 per cent lower to close at 7,549.77.

“The unusual volatility in the Tadawul index goes a significant distance towards explaining how cautious investors are reacting to the ongoing headlines,” Jameel Ahmad, global head of Currency Strategy and Market Research at FXTM, told Gulf News.

“It is not common for the index to alternate between buying and selling momentum so abruptly, but this is also an unusual situation for investors to monitor and they are probably reacting to news developments as they come through,” Ahmad said.

Despite volatile movements, the Tadawul has managed to recover from the losses that it suffered last week.

The index is 285 points below the level from which the sell-off started last week at 7,834 on October 10. Most of the buying has been coming through Saudi-based institutions even though foreigners have been net sellers.

Robust GulfNav shares

The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) general index closed at 2,753.07, up 0.21 per cent. Gulf Navigation closed 3.7 per cent higher at Dh1.12, with more than 300 million shares changing hands in on- and off-market transactions.

“Speculative movement was seen on Gulf Navigation, which has yet to produce any positive tangible results post its beginning-of-year capital increase,” said Issam Kassabieh, a senior analyst with Menacorp.

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) general index closed 0.28 per cent higher at 4,970.30.