Sunday 14 June 2020

MIDEAST STOCKS- #Kuwait leads Gulf lower, Egypt hit by coronavirus spike - Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Kuwait leads Gulf lower, Egypt hit by coronavirus spike - Reuters:

Most Gulf stocks closed lower on Sunday,
with Kuwait hardest after its banking federation said banks
would not pay dividends, while Egyptian shares sold off on a
spike in coronavirus cases.

The Kuwaiti index tumbled 3.2%, its biggest intraday
fall since April, with National Bank of Kuwait down 4%
and Kuwait Finance House ending 3.8% lower.

Kuwait's Capital Markets Authority on Thursday cancelled all
Wednesday's stock transactions after bank stocks fell in the
wake of a banking federation statement that Kuwaiti banks would
not pay dividends for 2020.

Beyond the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index ended 0.9% down,
pressured by a 2.6% fall in Egypt Kuwait Holding and a
4.4% drop in El Sewedy Electric.

#Saudi Aramco buys SABIC shares on market as it completes acquisition - Reuters

Saudi Aramco buys SABIC shares on market as it completes acquisition - Reuters:

State-owned Saudi Aramco (2222.SE) bought 2.1 billion shares of Saudi Basic Industries (SABIC) (2010.SE) on the stock market on Sunday as it completed its deal agreed last year to buy 70% of the petrochemical giant, according to sources and market data.

Four transactions were executed on the Saudi exchange, known as Tadawul, involving SABIC shares worth 259,125 billion riyals ($69.1) billion, Tadawal data showed, without naming the buyer.

Four sources confirmed the transactions were part of the Aramco acquisition agreed in 2019 and which will be one of the biggest in the global chemical industry once completed.

The shares are being sold by the Saudi sovereign fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), giving it more cash to invest in the government programme to diversify the economy away from oil.

European, Middle Eastern & African Stocks - Bloomberg #UAE #SaudiArabia #Qatar close

European, Middle Eastern & African Stocks - Bloomberg:

Updated stock indexes in Europe, Middle East & Africa. Get an overview of major indexes, current values and stock market data in Europe, UK, Germany, Russia & more.



European, Middle Eastern & African Stocks - Bloomberg #UAE #SaudiArabia #Qatar mid-session

European, Middle Eastern & African Stocks - Bloomberg:

Updated stock indexes in Europe, Middle East & Africa. Get an overview of major indexes, current values and stock market data in Europe, UK, Germany, Russia & more.




OPEC Gets Chance to Gain Upper Hand in Long Battle With Shale - Bloomberg

OPEC Gets Chance to Gain Upper Hand in Long Battle With Shale - Bloomberg:

Once the global oil market emerges from the coronavirus crisis, it may be greeted by a surprising change: greater dependence on crude from OPEC.

For the time being, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies are relinquishing their share of the market in a bid to prop up crude prices, slashing millions of barrels of output as the pandemic crushes fuel demand. 

They’d already spent the past three years forsaking sales volumes to offset the oil glut unleashed by burgeoning U.S. shale production. Before the pandemic, forecasters were projecting that the group would need to cut production further in coming years.

Yet the current upheaval could give OPEC another chance. As the oil-price collapse chokes off investment in new supplies around the world, from the mega-projects of Big Oil to drilling by U.S. shale wildcatters, some analysts see the cartel reviving its battered standing.

Middle East News: IPO for #Saudi Home Financing Firm Is a First - Bloomberg

Middle East News: IPO for Saudi Home Financing Firm Is a First - Bloomberg:

Amlak International for Real Estate Finance plans to sell shares in an IPO this month, in what will be the first Middle Eastern sale since the coronavirus prompted governments to shut down economies.

The Saudi non-bank real estate finance company will offer 27.2 million shares, representing 30% of its capital, according to a statement. NCB Capital will manage the IPO process.

The sale would follow a February offering by hospital operator Dr Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Services Group Co., which raised 2.63 billion riyals ($701 million). Saudi Arabia’s BinDawood Holding is pushing ahead with the IPO of its supermarket business, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Amlak International had postponed an earlier announcement to sell shares, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News in March.

#Dubai Stocks Lead Gulf Losses as Banks Face Pressure: Inside EM - Bloomberg

Dubai Stocks Lead Gulf Losses as Banks Face Pressure: Inside EM - Bloomberg:

Dubai equities lead Gulf losses as investors remain cautious about the pace of economic recovery, while volatility jumps in global markets.

Dubai’s DFM General Index lost as much as 2%, with banks weighing on its performance and an indicator for short-term volatility climbed to the highest level since early May. Equity gauges in Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain also declined between 0.3% and 1.3%.

Shares in emerging markets fell for a second day on Friday, trimming gains from earlier this month after the Federal Reserve warned the road to a full U.S. recovery will be a long one. Fears of a second wave of coronavirus infections in the U.S. also added to risk aversion, and Brent crude posted the first weekly drop since April.

“Volumes remains low as investors remain cautious following the volatility witnessed globally,” said Marie Salem, head of institutions at Daman Securities in Dubai. She added that lower oil prices last week should put some additional pressure on the Saudi market.