JEDDAH — Saudi stock market edged up Sunday at close following a sharp fall last week, while most Gulf stock markets extended losses on weaker oil prices. The main Saudi Tadawul All Share Index fell as much as 1.1 percent during the day, hitting a fresh four-month low of 8,561 points, but then turned around and rose 0.5 percent to 8,699 points. It tumbled 4.9 percent last week.
Foodmaker Savola Group was the main gainer, jumping 2.6 percent to SR68.00 as it rebounded from technical support at SR65.50, the low it hit in June and March.
Another food firm, Almarai, in which Savola has a 36.5 percent stake, rose 1.6 percent. Retailer Jarir Marketing climbed 1.9 percent.
Financial news website Argaam.com, citing central bank data, said on Sunday that point-of-sale (POS) transactions in SaudiArabia, which include payments through ATMs, debit and credit cards, rose 12.3 percent year-on-year during the holy month of Ramadan, which ended in mid-July. Cash withdrawals from ATMs rose 16 percent.
The figures point to a potentially strong third quarter for consumer-focused businesses.
Elsewhere, Dubai's index fell 0.6 percent to 4,098 points, with most stocks in the red, although developer DAMAC Properties, the most traded stock, rose 0.8 percent after announcing last week that its second-quarter profit had more than tripled.
Other property-related stocks did not perform so well. Emaar Properties, the emirate's biggest listed developer, and builder Arabtec fell 1.3 percent each.
Meanwhile, Gulf Navigation jumped 2.9 percent after announcing a 172 percent increase in profit for the first half of 2015 and a settlement deal with one of its major creditors, Nordic American Tankers, under which it will issue mandatory convertible bonds worth 37.34 million dirhams ($10.2 million).
Abu Dhabi's bourse fell 0.6 percent to 4,809 points as most blue chips declined, including lenders First Gulf Bank, down 1.0 percent, and National Bank of Abu Dhabi, which fell 1.4 percent.
Qatar shed 1.4 percent to 11,610 points. Qatar, whose petrochemicals business has suffered from the plunge in oil prices, dropped 2.5 percent. Oman's index slipped 0.4 percent. Renaissance Services tumbled 5.6 percent after it said it would continue repurchasing its mandatory convertible bonds.
The company said it had bought back the first tranche for a price of 0.151 rials ($0.39), a premium to the bond's last quoted price of 0.145 rials. Egypt's benchmark fell 1.1 percent, with most stocks in the red. The index gained 3.8 percent last week in the run-up to the launch of the New Suez Canal, which the government hopes will boost state revenues by allowing heavier traffic along the shortest marine route between Europe and Asia. — SG/Reuters
