DUBAI: Saudi Arabia's stock market rose in early trade on Tuesday as oil prices resumed their rally, while Egypt edged down after major industrial player Ezz Steel reported disappointing earnings.
Brent crude traded near $62 per barrel on Tuesday as the International Energy Agency warned of supply risks in the Middle East, although some analysts said that prices had risen too far from six-year lows hit in January.
The main Saudi stock index rose 0.9 percent, partly because of petrochemical companies, which are set to benefit from oil's rebound. Saudi Basic Industries, the biggest player in the sector, edged up 0.6 percent.
Two companies focused on real estate development in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Jabal Omar and Makkah Construction and Development, surged 6.7 and 4.5 percent respectively.
Saudi Arabian newspapers Arab News and Saudi Gazette reported on Monday that senior officials were seeking to speed up the city's development and would hold an international conference on the development of its low-income areas.
Egypt's market edged down 0.3 percent as Ezz Steel tumbled 4.1 percent after posting a third-quarter net loss that widened to 285.38 million Egyptian pounds ($37.4 million) from 84.1 million pounds a year earlier.
Comments
Comments are closed.