Saudi Arabia’s bank stocks led gains on the benchmark Tadawul All Share Index as rising crude prices and the prospect of faster growth fanned investor confidence ahead of first-half earnings season.
- The Tadawul Banks sub-index rises to a record high
- Al Rajhi Bank +1.6%; Banque Saudi Fransi +4.1%; Alinma Bank +2.4% at 11 a.m. in Riyadh
- “Saudi banks’ price-to-book valuation multiples are edging up” versus Gulf peers this year “driven by a higher oil price and solid growth prospects,” said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Edmond Christou
- “However, the market looks optimistic on lower provisioning this year but we stay cautious,” he said
- NOTE: Midyear Outlook: Gulf, South Africa Financials
- ADX General Index rises as much as 1.2%
- Dubai Financial Market General Index is the only losing gauge in the Middle East on Sunday
- Emirates NBD -0.8%; Dubai Investments -1.8%; Emaar Properties -0.5% at 11:58 a.m. local time
- Kuwaiti stocks advance for the fifth day in past six
- MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell 1.8% last week, the most since mid-May
Markets snapshot as of 12:01 p.m. in Dubai:
- Tadawul All Share Index +0.5%
- Dubai Financial Market General Index -0.4%
- ADX General Index +0.5%
- Kuwait Premier Market +0.2%
- QE Index +0.2%
- Bahrain Bourse All Share Index flat
- MSM 30 Index +0.4%
- EGX 30 Index +0.1%
- TA-35 Index +0.3%
Key News:
- A high-stakes game of oil diplomacy pits Saudi Arabia against long-time ally Abu Dhabi. And the result of their fight will shape not just the price of oil for the next year, but the future of the global energy industry
- The United Arab Emirates has overtaken Seychelles to become the world’s most vaccinated nation, according to Bloomberg tracking data
