Saudi index falls with most Gulf markets subdued

The Saudi Arabian stock market snapped a five-day rising streak on Sunday with lenders taking a breather after riding high on a lending boom related to Saudi Aramco's public listing. Other markets in the region were mostly lower as concerns surrounding global trade persisted.

To help local Saudis to buy Aramco shares, banks are marketing loans, with some offering four times the usual lending limit, two financial sources told Reuters earlier this month. The jump in lending has prompted Saudi Arabia's central bank to monitor banking sector liquidity on a daily basis but there have not been any issues so far, the central bank governor said.

Aramco plans to sell 1.5% of the company, aiming to raise as much as $25.6 billion in proceeds. It has already attracted approximately 73 billion riyals ($19.5 billion) in institutional and retail orders so far according to Saudi Arabia's Samba Financial Group. Saudi's index fell 0.8% with Al Rajhi Bank falling 1.1% and Bank Saudi Fransi dropping 1.5%.

Saudi Airlines Catering and Abdullah Al Othaim Markets closed down 2.9% and 3.2% respectively as the stocks traded ex-dividend. The Qatar index was down 0.1%, led by a 2.2% drop in Qatar Commercial Bank. Abu Dhabi's index traded flat as Aldar Properties and Emirates Telecom pushed the index sideways, with the former gaining 1.8% and the latter slipping 0.5%.

"(Local markets are) taking a cue from global markets that are worried around US-China trade talks", said Vrajesh Bhandari, senior portfolio manager at Al Mal Capital, adding that the Aramco IPO was receiving "a good response" from local investors. Dubai's index edged up 0.1% supported by a 0.4% rise in its largest lender Emirates NBD. Egypt's blue-chip index fell for a fifth straight session, losing 0.3%, with Commercial International Bank shedding 0.9%.