Saudi Shares Retreat, Erasing Earlier Gain to One-Month High - BusinessWeek

Saudi Arabian stocks declined, erasing an earlier gain to a one-month high, even as some investors expect petrochemical companies and banks to post encouraging second-quarter results.

The Saudi Tadawul All Share Index closed less than 0.1 percent lower at 6,345.67 in Riyadh.

“No doubt there was intraday volatility which had been observed before and some investors preferred to take some profits out,” said John Sfakianakis, chief economist at Banque Saudi Fransi in Riyadh. “The market is still looking forward with optimism to the second-quarter results, especially for petrochemicals, as oil prices have been settling above $75 a barrel.”