Saudi index reaches new highs on oil price rise

The upsurge in international oil prices, which reached their highest levels in three years, significantly contributed to this week’s sharp rise in the Saudi index, which gained its most excellent standard in nearly 15 years. 

Oil prices rose to $86 per barrel on Oct. 21. After that, however, profit-taking caused prices to fall. The oil price rise is expected to raise the economic growth of Saudi Arabia and the UAE. 

Compared to this year’s expansion of 2.3 percent and a sharp contraction of 4.1 percent last year, Saudi Arabia is expected to grow by 5.1 percent next year.

Saudi stocks at their highest levels

The Saudi stock market index rose by 0.3 percent, thanks to gains of 5.2 percent in Dr. Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical Services, a 0.6 percent increase in Al-Rajhi Bank, and a 0.5 percent increase in Aramco.

As of Oct. 20, the Saudi market index closed at 11,904 points, marking its maximum closing level since July 2006, at a time when the market index has been rising steadily since January this year, reaching about 3,214 points, or 37 percent. 

The rise in the stock market index was complemented by an impressive improvement in trade attributes as well as the volume of deals closed this year, which surpassed all previous records. 

This year, there was a higher proportion of initial public offerings (IPOs) on the Saudi market.

Oct 19 saw Saudi Arabia’s stock market rise to its highest level in more than 15 years, as oil prices resumed their upward trend. The Saudi stock index ended the trading session with a 0.3 percent increase to reach its highest level since July 2006, while Al-Rajhi Bank rose by 3.1 percent to close at its highest level in more than 15 years. In addition, following an increase in quarterly profits, Etihad Etisalat’s shares jumped about 3 percent.

SABIC petrochemical shares fell by 1.5 percent, while Yanbu National Petrochemical (Yansb) shares tumbled by 4.8 percent on Monday (October 18, 2021) after closing up 0.6 percent on Sunday (October 17). 

The Saudi index rose 0.6 percent on Oct 17 on a sharp increase of 5.8 percent in the share of Jabal Omar Development, one of the kingdom’s largest listed real estate development companies.

Dubai Stock Exchange closes with strong gains

The Dubai Stock Exchange index closed the week at 2857.3 points on Wednesday (Oct 20, 2021), up 1.38 percent ahead of the Prophet’s birthday holiday, which began on Thursday, led by the rise in Emaar and Emirates NBD stocks. 

While the Abu Dhabi market index lost 0.15 percent and closed at 7876.28 points, the most prominent losers were “Dana Gas” and First Abu Dhabi Bank, down by 0.95 percent and 0.88 percent, respectively.

The Abu Dhabi index fell 0.1 percent on Tuesday (Oct 19), weighed down by a 0.6 percent drop in First Abu Dhabi Bank shares and a 0.4 percent drop in International Holding Company shares. While the Dubai index remained stable, the Emirates NBD share fell 0.7 percent before the company announced its results.

The Abu Dhabi index rose 0.7 percent on Monday (Oct 18), supported by a 1.9 percent increase in shares of First Abu Dhabi Bank, the UAE’s largest bank, and a 0.5 percent increase in Emirates Telecommunications Group shares. 

At the same time, the main index of shares in Dubai rose 0.5 percent, with the closing of Emaar Properties, up 1 percent, while shares of Dubai Investment Group rose 2.4 percent. In comparison, the Abu Dhabi and Dubai indices closed higher on Sunday (Oct 17), by 0.3 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.

Qatar index rises

The Qatar Stock Exchange upwardly revised 0.1 percent on Thursday (Oct. 21), aided by a 3.5 percent increase in Nakilat shares, which had gained in seven of the previous eight sessions. It also increased by 0.76 percent to 11856.4 points on Wednesday (Oct.), with the shares of “Mannai Complex” and “Industries Qatar” rising by 1.96 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively.

The benchmark index of Qatari shares ended the trading session on Tuesday (Oct. 19) up 0.2 percent, supported by a 1 percent increase in Qatar National Bank, after it gave up its gains on Monday (Oct. 18) and closed down 0.1 percent, affected by the drop in Qatar’s National Bank’s share 0.9 percent. 

While the Qatari index rose 0.8 percent on Sunday (Oct. 17), led by a 1.8 percent increase for Qatar National Bank and 1.2 percent for Qatar Islamic Bank.

On the other hand, the Egyptian Stock Exchange closed on Thursday (Oct 21) on the occasion of the Prophet’s birthday and ended its sessions on Wednesday (Oct. 20) with a collective decline of indices for the second consecutive session, after the leading stock index in the Egyptian Stock Exchange fell 0.7 percent on Tuesday (Oct. 19).

As of Monday (Oct. 19), the leading stock index on the Egyptian Stock Exchange closed with an increase of 1.1 percent, continuing its gains for the ninth session, supported by a 1.9 percent jump for the Commercial International Bank share. 

The Egyptian main index also rose 1.5 percent on Sunday (Oct. 18), as most of the indices’ shares witnessed increases, including the claims of the Commercial International Bank.