Saudi Tadawul stock market ended in the red Wednesday as investors remained cautious ahead of a long weekend. Petrochemical and banking stocks weighed. The Tadawul is closed Saturday for National Day holiday. Trading will resume Sunday. The stock benchmark Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) lost 0.03 percent to close at 6,142.26, but was still up 2.5 percent on the month. Out of the 16 sectoral indices, only seven ended in the positive territory, with media & publishing getting the biggest percentage gain at 1.13, followed by industrial investment at 0.82 and cement trailing at 0.22. Bellwether SABIC led the decline with the largest volumes in the decliners, easing 0.5 percent. Elsewhere, Qatar's benchmark climbed 0.6 percent to 8,497 points, its highest close since July 7. Dubai's index rose 0.5 percent to close at 1,473 points, a two-week high. In Abu Dhabi, the index halted a 10-day decline, up 0.04 percent at 2,558 points. Kuwait's benchmark fell ahead of a planned protest later on Wednesday against corruption. The index slipped 0.4 percent to 5,956 points, down for a third-day this week. The mood in stock markets turned sour Wednesday as investors waited to hear if the US Federal Reserve would move to stimulate the US economy and if Greece's creditors would continue to prop up the struggling country.
