Saudi Shares Decline on Lower Confidence in Global Recovery - Bloomberg.com

Saudi Arabian shares slumped on the week’s first day, led by insurance and petrochemicals companies, as global stock markets and oil declined after a report showed the U.S. added fewer jobs than expected last month.

Al-Ahlia Cooperative Insurance, Allied Cooperative Insurance Group (ACIG) and Saudi Basic Industries Corp., the world’s largest petrochemical maker, helped the Saudi Tadawul All Share Index to slide as much as 3.06 percent and fell 1.23 percent to 5927.45 at 3:30 p.m. local time.

“The sell-off is coupled with global market psychology,” said John Sfakianakis, chief economist at Banque Saudi Fransi. “Investors are selling off in anticipation of a further market decline which took a beating in the U.S. and Europe yesterday as sovereign concerns mounted and a weak U.S. employment market didn’t help sentiment.”