Saudi bourse up, driven by petchems
Riyadh, April 3, 2010
Petrochemical stocks, led by heavyweight Saudi Basic Industries Corp (Sabic), and higher oil prices drove Saudi stocks to a higher close on Saturday.
Sabic shares closed 1.5 per cent higher after the company says that it started commercial production at a 2.8 million tonne expansion.
The petrochemicals index gained 0.8 per cent to 6,128 points while the all-share benchmark added 0.4 per cent to 6,827 points.
US crude oil futures closed the trading week with a fourth straight session on Thursday, settling at $85.20 a barrel.
'The local market sentiments are buoyed by expectations of good quarterly earnings and continuous surge on oil prices that moved quickly to trade above $85,' said Mohammed Ishaq Ali, fund manager at al-Rajhi Capital.
Saudi Arabian Mining Co (Maaden) closed 0.3 percent lower having recorded gains earlier in the session after announcing that Alcoa cut its stake in a planned $10.8 billion aluminium complex in the kingdom by more than a third.
'The market will take this news with a pinch of salt in the near term. The market will look forward to Maaden's plan to substitute them,' Al added. – Reuters