The main Saudi index fell as much as 1.1% in early trade yesterday, hitting a fresh four-month low of 8,561 points, but then turned around and rose 0.5%. Foodmaker Almarai rose 1.6%.

Reuters/Dubai


Most Gulf stock markets extended losses yesterday on weaker oil prices, but Saudi Arabia edged up following a sharp fall last week.
The Qatar Stock Exchange shed 1.4% and heavyweight Industries Qatar, whose petrochemicals business has suffered from the plunge in oil prices, dropped 2.5%.
The main Saudi index fell as much as 1.1% during the day, hitting a fresh four-month low of 8,561 points, but then turned around and rose 0.5%. It tumbled 4.9% last week.
Foodmaker Savola Group was the main gainer, jumping 2.6% to 68 riyals as it rebounded from technical support at 65.50 riyals, the low it hit in June and March.
Another food firm, Almarai, in which Savola has a 36.5% stake, rose 1.6%. Retailer Jarir Marketing climbed 1.9%.
Financial news website Argaam.com, citing central bank data, said yesterday that point-of-sale (POS) transactions in Saudi Arabia, which include payments through ATMs, debit and credit cards, rose 12.3% year-on-year during the holy month of Ramadan, which ended in mid-July. Cash withdrawals from ATMs rose 16%.
The figures point to a potentially strong third quarter for consumer-focused businesses.
Dubai’s index fell 0.6%, with most stocks in the red, although developer Damac Properties, the most traded stock, rose 0.8% after announcing last week that its second-quarter profit had more than tripled.
Other property-related stocks did not perform so well. Emaar Properties, the emirate’s biggest listed developer, and builder Arabtec fell 1.3% each.
Meanwhile, Gulf Navigation jumped 2.9% after announcing a 172% increase in profit for the first half of 2015 and a settlement deal with one of its major creditors, Nordic American Tankers, under which it will issue mandatory convertible bonds worth 37.34mn dirhams ($10.2mn).
Abu Dhabi’s bourse fell 0.6% as most blue chips declined, including lenders First Gulf Bank, down 1.0%, and National Bank of Abu Dhabi, which fell 1.4%.
Oman’s index slipped 0.4%. Renaissance Services tumbled 5.6% after it said it would continue repurchasing its mandatory convertible bonds.
The company said it had bought back the first tranche for a price of 0.151 rials ($0.39), a premium to the bond’s last quoted price of 0.145 rials.
Egypt’s benchmark fell 1.1%, with most stocks in the red. The index gained 3.8% last week in the run-up to the launch of the New Suez Canal, which the government hopes will boost state revenues by allowing heavier traffic along the shortest marine route between Europe and Asia.
Elsewhere in the Gulf, Kuwait’s index edged up 0.4% to 6,271 points, while Bahrain’s index was flat at 1,333 points.