Tadawul rallies on higher oil prices

Shares in Saudi Arabia led gains across the Arabian Gulf on Wednesday, buoyed by a rally in oil prices and positive first quarter results from Zain KSA and Saudi British Bank.

Brent crude futures hit a seven-week high, trading at around US$56.60 per barrel, on speculation that the kingdom will support an extension of Opec cuts.

The key Saudi stocks index ended the day about 0.9 per cent higher at 7,099.13, its best performance in a week.

Banking stocks led the gains in Riyadh after first-quarter profits for Saudi British Bank came in ahead of analyst estimates. The bank’s shares ended up 1.7 per cent, with Al Rajhi Bank and NCB closing up 1.4 per cent and 2.5 per cent, respectively. Saudi Telecom and Etihad Etisalat rose after fellow telco Zain KSA stunned analysts with its first quarterly profit in more than eight years. Zain’s shares ended the day up 9.8 per cent to an 18-month high of 10.05 riyals.

Dubai shares broke a four-day losing streak, ending up almost 0.2 per cent at 3,540.60, thanks to gains by Dubai Islamic Bank.

The bank’s shares rose 1.7 per cent to Dh5.90, following Tuesday’s announcement of a 4 per cent increase in first quarter profits. Emaar Malls and Air Arabia also gained.

Emaar Properties closed 0.4 per cent lower at Dh7.35.

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index closed 0.2 lower at 4,555.06, its fifth straight losing session.

The index was dragged lower by First Abu Dhabi Bank (ticker: NBAD) and Etisalat.

Shares in UNB rose 6.4 per cent to Dh4.85 after the bank announced an 0.5 per cent increase in first-quarter net income, ahead of an average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

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