Saudi stocks give up gains as oil prices tumble

The Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) finished flat on Monday after a relapse in oil prices and a sell-off in global equity markets weighed on stock performance and investor sentiment.

The benchmark index gave up some gains made in early trading to finish nearly 0.16 percent higher at 5,905 points. Trading volumes rose slightly to SAR 5.3 billion, while the advances/declines ratio was 57/105.

Stocks had advanced earlier after Saudi oil minister Ali Al Naimi said talks with his Venezuelan counterpart Eulogio Del Pino in Riyadh were successful. However, investors’ hopes for an agreement on an oil output cut faded shortly after.

News that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are committed to sending troops to Syria also added to concerns.

“Any potential for a further escalation in geo-political tensions and potential conflicts would create risks for the markets across the region,” Jameel Ahmad, chief market analyst at FXTM said in a research note.”

On Tadawul, most sectors finished the session in the red, as petrochemicals, hotels and tourism, transport, and construction recorded the biggest daily losses.

National Petrochemical Co. (Petrochem) and Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Co. (Petro Rabigh) saw their shares drop by three percent to SAR 12.95 and SAR 9.10, respectively.

Shares of Al Tayyar Travel Group tumbled by nearly two percent to SAR 41.60, despite news earlier in the day that the kingdom’s market regulator, the Capital Markets Authority, had approved the company’s request to raise its capital to SAR 2.09 billion from SAR 2 billion.

Real estate and insurance stocks were among the top performers, lifted by Alandalus Properties and Solidarity Saudi Takaful Co., which both surged by over 9 percent.

Saudi International Petrochemical Co.’s (Sipchem) stock jumped by nearly 2 percent to SAR 10.70 after the company revealed that it had acquired additional stakes in two of its affiliates from Kuwait’s Ikarus Petroleum Industries.

Brent Crude was over 2.2 percent lower at $33.30 per barrel (bbl) by end of trade in Saudi Arabia, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell 2.9 percent to just over $30/bbl.

Write to Joumana Saad at joumana.saad@argaamplus.com