#Saudi Stocks Advance Most in Mideast as Banks Recover: Inside EM - Bloomberg

Saudi Stocks Advance Most in Mideast as Banks Recover: Inside EM - Bloomberg:

Stocks in Saudi Arabia climbed the most among Middle Eastern equity markets on Sunday, boosted by banking shares, after the government said it has no plans to increase an Islamic levy on local lenders.

National Commercial Bank, the biggest Saudi bank by assets, rose 1.7 percent and trimmed a loss of 2.1 percent on Thursday. The stock contributed the most to the 0.3 percent increase of the Tadawul All Share Index on a weighed basis. Al Rajhi Bank followed as it added 0.7 percent.

The gauge tracking lenders posted the biggest drop since Jan. 20 in Riyadh on Thursday after a report that the kingdom is considering plans to raise an Islamic tax paid by local banks to as much as 20 percent, or double the current rate, according to people with knowledge of the matter. On Friday, the nation’s tax authority said it has no plans to increase the levy known as Zakat.