Tadawul: Saudi petchems gain strength

News that Orascom Telecom Media and Technology is seeking to buy Beltone Financial boosted Egypt’s stock market on Thursday, while rebounding petrochemical shares continued to buoy Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All-Share Index, which had jumped 1.9 percent on Wednesday in response to a leap in oil prices, added 1.1 percent even though oil prices fell back slightly.
In a signal that some investors are betting that oil may finally have bottomed, petrochemical shares stayed strong, with Saudi Basic Industries climbing 5.2 percent.
Telecommunications firm Mobily, beaten down this year by an earnings restatement scandal, continued recovering, adding 6.0 percent.
The company said arbitration proceedings in a dispute over its claims against Zain Saudi, which have hurt its earnings, were progressing.
However, Yanbu Cement dropped 2.3 percent after reporting that net profit fell 11 percent from a year earlier in the third quarter to SR145 million ($38.7 million). In Egypt, Orascom Telecom and Act Financial want to buy Beltone for 650 million Egyptian pounds ($83 million), Orascom said in a statement to the bourse.
That was bullish news for a market that has been hit in recent months by sluggish economic growth and foreign exchange shortages. Orascom shares surged 8.6 percent and Beltone soared 20.8 percent.
The Cairo stock index climbed 1.9 percent. Financial and investment firms in general were strong on the news of interest in the financial sector, with EFG Hermes gaining 4.8 percent and Qalaa Holdings surging 7.7 percent.
Trading volume in the Egyptian market shot up to its highest level this year, a positive technical signal. The index has formed a gradual uptrend channel from August’s 20-month low.
Elsewhere in the Gulf, Dubai’s index dropped 0.1 percent. Builder Arabtec, the most heavily traded stock, slipped 1.6 percent but blue chip developer Emaar Properties added 0.6 percent.
Abu Dhabi fell 0.9 percent as Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank pulled back 1.8 percent.