Tadawul jumps 2.3%

10/09/2015 05:26 AST

Stock markets across the Middle East rose on Wednesday, moving in line with global equities and largely ignoring oil prices, which gave up early gains and fell. Global shares rose on Wednesday, led by an 8 percent surge in Japanese stocks as the prospect of more economic stimulus from China soothed investors rattled by recent market turmoil.

Saudi Arabia's Tadawul All-Share Index jumped 2.3 percent to 7,749 points and most stocks in Riyadh were positive. National Commercial Bank, the Kingdom's top lender, was one of the main supports, jumping 3.2 percent. Another large lender, Al-Rajhi, climbed 2.6 percent. Saudi Arabia's banking sector may benefit from an expected US interest rate hike in coming months. Demand deposits in the kingdom carry zero interest, and its monetary policy usually follows that of the Fed because the riyal is pegged to the dollar.

"The Federal Reserve Bank may tighten its monetary policy in the fourth quarter this year, which may bode well for the credit margins of Saudi banks given that demand deposits constitute 69 percent of total deposits," Albilad Capital said in a note on Tuesday.

Dubai's index rose 1.4 percent 1.4 percent to 3,626 points. Developer DAMAC and mortgage lender Amlak Finance were the most traded stocks after DAMAC said it had launched three new projects and signed a deal with Amlak to provide mortgages for buyers of its properties. Amlak surged 3.8 percent but DAMAC, which had risen as much as 2.2 percent during the day, closed 0.3 percent lower.

Abu Dhabi's bourse added 2.0 percent to 4,502 points as most stocks rose. Telecommunications firm Etisalat surged 4.4 percent and developer Aldar Properties jumped 3.0 percent.

Qatar's index jumped 2.0 percent in another broad rally. Conglomerate Aamal Company surged 4.2 percent after announcing the launch of a new subsidiary which will focus on maritime transportation services.

Egypt's bourse rose 1.8 percent as many stocks offset the previous day's losses. The Cairo market had fallen sharply on Tuesday after the country's agriculture minister was arrested on suspicion of corruption, with the sell-off largely driven by sentiment rather than fundamentals.

Arab News