Tadawul climbs to month high on news of stimulus measures

Most Gulf markets tracked a rise in the biggest stock market in the Arab world, the Saudi Arabian Tadawul, as the kingdom invested in another round of stimulus measures

Saudi stocks are expected to continue rising as companies report earings.

The Saudi Arabian Tadawul exchange climbed to its highest in a month as sweeping government stimulus measures encouraged investors.

The bourse rose 4.5 per cent to 6,343.79 on the first day of trading after the stimulus plan was announced last Friday.

Ahmed al Qahtani, an analyst at NCB Capital in Riyadh, said he expected the Saudi market to continue rising in anticipation of first-quarter earnings, expected to be released in a few weeks. "The petrochemicals and banking sector is expected to perform well and trigger a broad rise in the market," he said.

The Dubai Financial Market General Index advanced 2.5 per cent to 1,509.82, and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index added 0.6 per cent to 2,602.26. Qatar's QE Index added 2.5 per cent to 8,395.02, and Oman's market advanced 1.3 per cent to 6,353.64.

But Bahraini shares fell 1.6 per cent to 1,391.81 as volumes remained thin, while Kuwait's market slipped 0.2 per cent to 6,251.60.

Egypt's benchmark stock index, the EGX 100, will also be on the radar of investors as the Egyptian Exchange is due to reopen this week.