Saudi Shares Plunge as U.S. Downgrade Fuels Concern Over Global Economy - Bloomberg

Saudi Arabian shares tumbled for a third day, sending the benchmark index to its largest intraday drop since March, amid rising concerns about the global economy after Standard & Poor’s cut the U.S.’s credit rating for the first time.

Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC), the world’s biggest petrochemicals maker, dropped the most in two months. Al Rajhi Bank (RJHI), the kingdom’s largest publicly traded lender by market value, reached its lowest intraday price since March.

The 147-company Tadawul All Share Index (SASEIDX) slumped 5.9 percent to 6,041.01, the steepest intraday decline since March 1, at 12:41 p.m. in Riyadh. All 15 industry groups fell. The index has fallen 11 percent from the year-high of 6,786.03 on May 22.

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