Most stock exchanges in the Gulf region closed higher, Monday, as investors searched for more evidence on the path of global monetary policy, after mixed US economic data last week, but the Saudi index declined due to banking stocks.
In Abu Dhabi, the index rose 0.5 percent, thanks to a four percent jump in First Abu Dhabi Bank shares.
A banking document showed on Monday that First Abu Dhabi Bank set the final indicative price for issuing standard-sized five-year sukuks at 85 basis points above US Treasury bonds.
While the Saudi index gave up its early gains to close down 0.3 percent, affected by the decline in the shares of the National Bank of Saudi Arabia by 1.8 percent, and the stock of Alinma Bank declined by 1.6 percent.
Oil prices fell by more than two percent, due to sharp price cuts by Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, and an increase in OPEC production, which allayed concerns about supplies resulting from escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
However, MBC Media Group shares rose 30 percent, above the listing price in its first trading on the stock exchange, after raising 831 million riyals ($221.59 million) in the initial public offering of ten percent of the company.
Outside the Gulf region, there was little change in the EGX30 blue-chip index in Egypt.
2024-01-08 15:02:54
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