7 factors to keep in mind before Tadawul opens

Here’s what you need to know before the opening bell rings at the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) on Wednesday.

1) Oil prices recovered slightly on Wednesday, after they slipped following an IEA report forecasting the supply glut to continue. Global crude benchmark rose 0.3 percent to $52.59/bbl and WTI crude added 0.3 percent at $50.93/bbl, an hour before UAE markets opened.

2) Asian stocks edged down on Wednesday, following overnight declines in US markets. Japan’s Nikkei was last down 0.9 percent; Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.1 percent and China’s CSI300 index lost 0.3 percent, as the markets neared closing hours.

3) Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil producer, plans to invest more than $300 billion on oil and gas projects over the next decade to avoid shortfall in supply growth, chief executive Amin Nasser said on Tuesday.

4) Zain Saudi signed on Tuesday an open-ended letter of intent with Dawiyat, a subsidiary of Saudi Electricity Co., to cooperate in several areas.

5) Banque Saudi Fransi reported a third quarter net profit of SAR 1.01 billion, down 1 per cent year-on-year.

6) Saudi Arabian Refineries Co. (SARCO) said it will file a legal claim against its affiliate, the Arabian Sulfonates Co. (ASCO), due to the latter’s incurred losses during the first half of 2016.

7) Abdulmohsen Al Hokair Group for Tourism and Development Co. has reopened on Tuesday Novotel Hotel Yanbu after completing renovations.