Saudi stocks rebounded from a five-day slump Wednesday as banks rose on strong earnings. The kingdom's stock benchmark Tadawul All Share Index rose for a first session in six, finishing 0.28 percent at 7,573.28 points. Al Rajhi Bank rose 3.9 percent, SABB added 1.7 percent and Banque Saudi Fransi gained 2.7 percent. Saudi Hollandi Bank up 2.5 percent and Aljazira Bank rallied 2.8 percent as earnings more than doubled. “We see the market getting excited about Saudi banks again as the growth has finally started to kick in,” said Ahmed Badr, vice-president of regional equity research at Credit Suisse. Elsewhere, in Dubai, the index slipped 0.4 percent to 1,672 points, trimming its 2012 gains to 23.5 percent as investors awaited results. Abu Dhabi's index dipped 0.6 percent to 2,532 points, its lowest close since Feb. 23. In Oman, industry stocks lifted the index 0.4 percent to a three-week high at 5,907 points. Qatar index eased 0.1 percent at 8,760 points. Kuwait measure climbed 0.3 percent to 6,164 points. Bahrain measure eased 0.09 percent to 1,134 points. US and European equities rebounded also Wednesday. The euro was also climbing, rising 0.3 percent to $1.3116. In late afternoon trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 113.64 points, or 0.89 percent, at 12,829.57. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 12.99 points, or 0.96 percent, at 1,371.58. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 29.54 points, or 0.99 percent, at 3,020.76. In France, the CAC-40 rose 0.6 percent to 3,237 while Britain's FTSE gained 0.7 percent to 5,634. Germany's DAX jumped 1 percent at 6,674.
