Saudi, Egypt gain as markets reopen after Eid holiday; Qatar slips

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s stock market rose on Sunday as it reopened after a week of public holidays to celebrate Eid and was buoyed by a rise in oil prices.

Oil prices rose nearly 1.5% on Friday, and ended higher on the week, as impending European Union sanctions on Russian oil raised the prospect of tighter supply and had traders shrugging off worries about global economic growth.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index finished 0.6% higher, with Al Rajhi Bank gaining 1.8% and oil behemoth Saudi Aramco gaining 2.1%.

Saudi Arabia’s minister of industry and mineral resources said the ministry has a goal to attract investments worth $32 billion to its mining and minerals sector through nine new projects, state news agency SPA reported.

Dr Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical Services, however, declined 0.9%, as the stock traded ex-dividend.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index rose 0.6%, extending gains from the previous session when it jumped more than 3%.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ordered the government to set a programme for the private sector’s participation in state-owned assets, with a target of $10 billion annually for four years, private television channel Extra News reported on Tuesday.

However, Egypt’s economy remains exposed to the tensions in Europe.

Bucking the trend, the Qatari index eased 0.3%, hit by a 2.9% fall in petrochemical maker Industries Qatar.