Saudi Tadawul traders cautious ahead of budget

Saudi Arabian equities traded cautiously higher yesterday ahead of Thursday evening’s budget announcement.

Shares in Dubai and Abu Dhabi finished lower, even as gainers outnumbered laggers.

The Tadawul opened lower in the morning but found its feet in afternoon trading, ending a quiet day up 0.4 per cent, as the region’s investors waited for details of the government’s spending plans for 2017.

“Investors were somewhat cautious ahead of the budget announcement, and prefer to de-risk ahead of the weekend,” said Nayal Khan, the head of institutional sales trading at Saudi Fransi Capital in Riyadh. Maaden and Banque Saudi Fransi led gains for the day, closing up 3.5 per cent and 1.7 per cent, respectively.

In the UAE, the Dubai Financial Market ended the day down about 0.1 per cent at 3,517.33. Air Arabia and Arabtec weighed on the index, both falling 1.5 per cent.

Shares in Marka led percentage gains for a second day, following the announcement of the resignation of chief executive Nick Peel on Wednesday. The retail investor’s shares hit an all-time high of Dh1.61 in the early afternoon, eventually closing up 5.3 per cent at Dh1.59.

In Abu Dhabi, shares ended the day down about 0.7 per cent at 4,436.82, on the quietest day of trading in the capital for 10 weeks. Etisalat, the index’s most heavily weighted stock, closed down 2.2 per cent at Dh18.05, cancelling out minor gains by Aldar Properties and Bank of Sharjah.

For the week, the capital’s benchmark lost 0.6 per cent.

In Doha, the Qatar Exchange index closed up 0.3 per cent thanks to gains by Barwa Real Estate and Doha Bank.