MIDEAST STOCKS-Banks drag down Saudi, Gulf mostly sluggish; Egypt up | Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Banks drag down Saudi, Gulf mostly sluggish; Egypt up | Reuters:

"Banking shares dragged Saudi Arabian stocks lower on Sunday while most other Gulf markets were sluggish as investors waited for third-quarter corporate earnings announcements. Good news on Egypt's International Monetary Fund loan boosted that market.

The Saudi stock index sank 2.2 percent as the banking index tumbled 4.5 percent. Banque Saudi Fransi plunged by its 10 percent daily limit in very thin trade.

Banks have been hit in recent weeks by concern that the slumping construction sector could saddle them with bad debt, and by the central bank's decision to have them reschedule consumer loans to customers whose incomes have been hit by the government's cuts to public sector allowances."



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