Saudi stocks surge after oil rises, Egypt also gains

31 Jan, 2016


DUBAI: Saudi Arabia's stock market rose sharply in early trade on Sunday, led by petrochemical companies, after oil prices climbed at the end of last week. Egypt's bourse also gained in response to firmer global equities prices.

The Saudi index jumped 3.2 percent in the opening 20 minutes of trade to 6,071 points. Its 3.2 percent rise on Thursday triggered a minor double bottom formed by the lows since mid-January and pointing up to around 6,300 points.

Beaten-down petrochemical producer Saudi Kayan was the most heavily traded stock, gaining 6.2 percent. But construction firm Jabal Omar fell 0.4 percent after reporting a loss for the fourth quarter.

Egypt's stock index climbed 1.7 percent on the back of a few stocks such as Elsewedy Electric, up 5.8 percent; most of the 10 most heavily traded stocks were flat.

Copyright Reuters, 2016

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