Saudi equities rise on positive mood

JEDDAH — Saudi Arabia equities were higher at the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Industrial Investment, Insurance and Multi Investment sectors propelled shares higher. At the close, the stock benchmark Tadawul All Share Index gained 0.07%. The biggest gainers of the session were National Industrialization Co, which rose 10.09% or 1.70 points to trade at 18.55 at the close. Bupa Arabia for Coop. Insurance added 6.51% or 8.25 points to end at 135.00 and Al-Rajhi Cooperative Insurance was up 5.36% or 2.50 points to 49.10 in late trade. Biggest losers included Jabal Omar Development Company, which lost 4.36% or 3.00 points to trade at 65.75 in late trade. Jazan Development Co. declined 3.08% or 0.40 points to end at 12.60 and Etihad Atheeb Telecommunication shed 2.78% or 0.100 points to 3.500. Declining stocks outnumbered rising ones by 88 to 50 and 32 ended unchanged on the Saudi Arabia Stock Exchange. Saudi’s National Industrialization (Tasnee) jumped its 10 percent daily limit in heavy trade after saying it entered into an agreement with American chemicals maker Tronox to sell its titanium dioxide business, Cristal, for $1.673 billion in cash and 37.6 million new shares in Tronox. Analysts at Riyadh-based NCB Capital said that despite the capital loss from the sale - the difference between the selling price and the book value of Cristal - which will be recorded in the income statement, they believe the deal will help Tasnee in the long run as it improves margins and the balance sheet. Other petrochemical shares also rose as Brent futures rebounded overnight and were trading near $56.50 a barrel. Advanced Petrochemical added 4.9 percent. The main index closed 0.1 percent higher. Elsewhere, Qatar’s index added 0.2 percent to 10,953 points, bouncing from a session low of 10,683 points. Dubai’s share index rose on Wednesday as builder Arabtec surged after getting approval from the securities regulator to increase its capital, while Saudi chemicals producer Tasnee gained on news it will sell a major business segment. The positive mood spilled into other stocks, helping the main index rebound 2.4 percent to 3,646 points in above 10-day average daily volume. It was the largest single day gain since Dec. 12. Emaar Properties, the builder of the world’s tallest tower, added 2.8 percent. Abu Dhabi’s index rose 0.7 percent on the back of a 4.7 percent rise in shares of Dana Gas. Earlier this week the commodities producer came under pressure after a downward revision to its net earnings for 2016. Egypt’s index succumbed to profit taking and fell 2.1 percent to 12,401 points as the Egyptian pound steadied near a three-month peak against the US dollar. Foreign funds were net sellers of shares, bourse data showed. They have been selling in recent days as appreciation of the pound has made local stocks more expensive in dollar terms and offered currency gains. Global Telecom Holding slumped 7.9 percent in heavy trade after the mobile phone operator was fined $60 million in a lawsuit over its previously owned Iraqi unit. — SG/Reuters