#Saudi, Egypt gain as markets reopen after Eid holiday; #Qatar slips | Reuters

Saudi, Egypt gain as markets reopen after Eid holiday; Qatar slips | Reuters

Saudi Arabia's stock market rose on Sunday as it reopened after a week of public holidays to celebrate Eid and was buoyed by a rise in oil prices.

Oil prices rose nearly 1.5% on Friday, and ended higher on the week, as impending European Union sanctions on Russian oil raised the prospect of tighter supply and had traders shrugging off worries about global economic growth. read more

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI) finished 0.6% higher, with Al Rajhi Bank (1120.SE) gaining 1.8% and oil behemoth Saudi Aramco (2222.SE) gaining 2.1%.

Saudi Arabia's minister of industry and mineral resources said the ministry has a goal to attract investments worth $32 billion to its mining and minerals sector through nine new projects, state news agency SPA reported. read more

Dr Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical Services (4013.SE), however, declined 0.9%, as the stock traded ex-dividend.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index (.EGX30) rose 0.6%, extending gains from the previous session when it jumped more than 3%.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ordered the government to set a programme for the private sector's participation in state-owned assets, with a target of $10 billion annually for four years, private television channel Extra News reported on Tuesday. read more

However, Egypt's economy remains exposed to the tensions in Europe.

Bucking the trend, the Qatari index (.QSI) eased 0.3%, hit by a 2.9% fall in petrochemical maker Industries Qatar (IQCD.QA).

#SaudiArabia Cuts Oil Prices from Record Levels Amid China Lockdowns - Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia Cuts Oil Prices from Record Levels Amid China Lockdowns - Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia cut oil prices for buyers in Asia as coronavirus lockdowns in China weigh on demand, countering uncertainty around Russia’s supplies as the Ukraine war drags on.

Saudi Aramco is lowering prices for the first time in four months. The state-controlled company dropped its key Arab Light crude grade for next month’s shipments to Asia to $4.40 a barrel above the benchmark it uses, from $9.35 in May. That’s in line with a Bloomberg survey of refiners and traders from late April that forecast a $5 decrease.

Aramco also lowered all grades for the north west Europe region and almost all for the Mediterranean. Prices for U.S. customers were kept unchanged from May.

Saudi Arabia raised its crude to record levels in the past two months after prices surged above $100 a barrel when Russia invaded Ukraine. Russian exports have already fallen and may drop further as the European Union moves closer to formally sanctioning energy supplies from the country.

While the war has tightened the global oil market, Beijing’s Covid Zero strategy has lead to China’s largest demand shock since the early days of the pandemic. Consumption of gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel last month was expected to slide 20% from a year earlier, Bloomberg reported on April 22.

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

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