Tadawul gains on MSCI hope

Saudi stocks led gains across the Arabian Gulf on Sunday, on a mixed day for UAE stocks.

Regional equities had a largely quiet start to the week, shrugging off Friday’s drop in oil prices.

Brent crude futures settled at US$49.95 per barrel on Friday on anxiety that renewed production cuts by Opec states and others will fail to ease a global supply glut.

Bloomberg’s GCC 200 Index, which tracks major stocks across the Arabian Gulf, ended the day up 0.4 per cent, its best one-day performance in over three weeks, boosted by Saudi stocks.

The Tadawul closed up 0.9 per cent as anticipation increases that index provider MSCI will later this month include Saudi Arabia in its watch list for inclusion in its widely tracked Emerging Markets Index.

The Dubai Financial Market General Index ended the day 0.3 per cent lower at 3,341.54.

Damac Properties and DIB led stocks lower, falling 2.1 per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively. Shuaa Capital was among the lead gainers, closing up 1.3 per cent at Dh1.51, after the Bahrain Stock Exchange website posted a statement from investment group GFH saying it had withdrawn from talks to acquire the Dubai-based investment bank. The statement was later removed.

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index eked out a minor gain in quiet trading, closing up 0.1 per cent at 4,483.09. FAB and Aldar Properties were the pick of just seven gainers, each rising 0.5 per cent. Shares in Dana Gas were unchanged at 44 fils, after Bloomberg reported that the energy firm had appointed advisers to examine options for the restructuring of US$700 million worth of sukuk due in October.

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