Banks lead losers on Saudi bourse

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index fell for a second day yesterday, led by Al Rajhi Bank, which declined after being rated "equal-weight" at Morgan Stanley in new coverage.

Al Rajhi, the country's largest lender by market value, fell for a fifth day, losing as much as 1.5 per cent, to 67.5 Saudi riyals. Saudi British Bank, the second-largest lender by market value, was also rated "equal-weight" at Morgan Stanley. It fell for a fifth day, losing as much as 1.2 per cent to 49.2 riyals.

Morgan Stanley yesterday initiated coverage of Al Rajhi, Saudi British Bank and three other Saudi lenders. It rated Riyad Bank, Samba Financial Group and Arab National Bank as "overweight".