TASI slips; Egypt firm

JEDDAH/CAIRO — Saudi stock benchmark Tadawul All Share Index retreated 0.9 percent to 6,570 points on Sunday, pulling away from technical resistance on the July peak of 6,703 points. The index is still up 16.3 percent over the last 30 days. Banking shares, which have been the chief gainers over that period, were some of the worst performers on Sunday as all but two of the 12 listed lenders closed lower. Banque Saudi Fransi dropped 3.7 percent to 26.10 riyals, it is now trading at par with the mean fair value of analysts polled by Reuters. “When a market gains about 20 percent in one month some profit taking is a given. Sentiment swung from extreme fear to extreme greed in a short period,” said Khan of Alrayan Investment. Khan added that the rally has been fuelled by institutional investors while Saudi retail investors - which usually make up the majority of trading volumes - have remained sellers. “As a result, the larger, more liquid names have done very well.» According to exchange data, local mutual funds were aggressive net buyers of Saudi stocks over a one week period to Nov. 17 while retail investors were net sellers. Egypt remains the star performer among its peers in the region rising 5% over last week and breaking the 11,000 level for the first time since 2008. The rise is backed by positive investor sentiment regarding the IMF support of much needed funding. Stocks continue to rise after the currency declined by more than 40% at the beginning of this month. UAE markets followed their main peers in their positive mood with Dubai’s index rising by 1.1% followed by Abu Dhabi which witnessed a modest rise of 0.2% for the week. — SG/Agencies