MIDEAST STOCKS- #Saudi stocks fall as second batch joins MSCI index - Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi stocks fall as second batch joins MSCI index - Reuters:

Saudi stocks fell sharply in early trading on Wednesday, as almost all the kingdom’s banks dropped at the start of the second phase of introducing Saudi stocks into the MSCI emerging markets index.

The inclusion of Saudi stocks in the MSCI and FTSE indexes has attracted billions of dollars from foreign investors, who have been net buyers every month this year, sending the Saudi index up nearly 20% at its peak in May.

But since then, geopolitical and trade tensions have reduced the Saudi index’s year-to-date gains to 4.4%.