Monday may provide the true test for Saudi Arabian markets following the U.S. intelligence report that said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman signed off on the killing of columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
The benchmark Tadawul All Share Index fell 0.5% on Sunday, a move that barely reflected the slump in emerging markets at the end of last week when Saudi markets were closed. The relatively muted response may be a sign of relief that the sanctions announced by the U.S. weren’t tougher, though the lower participation of foreign investors on a Sunday might have clouded the picture, analysts said.
President Joe Biden’s administration imposed only modest new sanctions on the kingdom when the report was released last week. Still, the president said in an interview with Univision News that he told Saudi King Salman that “the rules are changing” in the kingdom’s relationship with the U.S. and promised “significant changes” on Monday.
Saudi Arabia said it “rejects the negative, false and unacceptable assessment in the report” that implicated the crown prince, the king’s son and effective ruler.
No comments:
Post a Comment