Bounce in crude oil supports Saudi stocks

The Tadawul All Share Index rose 0.2 percent on Monday as Brent oil prices recovered some of last week’s heavy losses. Eight of 14 listed petrochemical makers rose with Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) up 0.5 percent.
Most blue-chip banks rose; National Commercial Bank added 1.2 percent.
Dubai’s Drake & Scull climbed 2.4 percent on Monday. It has now risen 8 percent in unusually large volumes since Thursday. Former chief Khaldoun Tabari has sold his stake in the company to Tabarak Investment, a source told Zawya, a Thomson Reuters publication.
Tabarak Investment’s stake stands at around 18 to 20 percent after the sale, making it the largest shareholder, Zawya said. In April, DSI said it would sell 500 million dirhams ($136 million) of shares to Tabarak as part of its capital restructuring program, subject to regulatory approval.
A 3 percent gain in shares of the largest listed real estate developer, Emaar Properties, to 7.83 dirhams also helped to carry Dubai’s index 1.2 percent higher.
The stock has been strong since last week when Emaar said it planned to distribute funds from a listing of its local real estate developer to shareholders. A second straight close above technical resistance at its December peak of 7.79 dirhams would confirm a break and target resistance at the April 2015 high of 8.39 dirhams.
In Abu Dhabi, its largest listed developer Aldar Properties was also strong, gaining 4.4 percent to its highest closing price since late March.
Dana Gas finished flat; the gas explorer has soared 48 percent this month on news that it received a portion of its overdue payments from Egypt and on hopes for its legal efforts to recover money from Iraqi Kurdistan. The Abu Dhabi index added 0.3 percent.

Source: Arab News