Most Gulf markets rise on higher oil prices, U.S. rate hopes | Reuters

Most Gulf markets rise on higher oil prices, U.S. rate hopes | Reuters

Most major Gulf equities closed higher on Thursday, tracking global peers and oil prices higher on optimism over China's demand outlook and hopes for smaller rate rises in the United States.

Oil, which fuels region's growth, rose more than 1% on Thursday with Brent crude was up $1.18, or 1.4%, to $83.85 a barrel by 1250 GMT.

Fadi Reyad, Chief Market Analyst at CAPEX.com MENA said GCC stock markets were impacted by both local and global economic factors, while traders were focusing on Thursday's U.S. inflation report and hoping for a recovery in the global economy's demand outlook amid improved activities in China.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI) jumped 1.2%, with Al Rajhi Bank (1120.SE) increasing 2.9%.

Saudi National Bank (SNB) (1180.SE) advanced 2.7% after its board proposed to raise capital by 15.22 billion riyals ($4.05 billion) through issuing 1 bonus share for every 3 shares. The bank has also proposed a 0.6 riyals a share cash dividend for the second half.

Dubai's main share index (.DFMGI) rose 0.5%, following a 3.1% surge in road toll operator Salik Company (SALIK.DU) and 1.8% hike in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU).

Abu Dhabi's share index (.FTFADGI) edged up 0.1%, led by a 1.7% boost in Telecoms company e& , formerly known as Emirates Telecommunications.

The Qatari benchmark index (.QSI), however, fell 2.5%, extending losses to a straight third session, as almost all its constituent stocks moved into negative territory.

Qatar National Bank (QNBK.QA), the Gulf's biggest bank by assets, was the main drag on the index, which tumbled 4.5%, despite reporting on Wednesday a 9% rise in its annual net profit.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index (.EGX30), closed 0.2% higher, with Investment Bank EFG Hermes (HRHO.CA) rising 3.5%.

Meanwhile hundreds of millions of dollars have flowed through Egypt's interbank market since the central bank allowed the Egyptian pound to depreciate by 13% to a historic low, bankers said on Thursday.

Egypt has been suffering a shortage of foreign currency since the war in Ukraine hit tourism revenue, with foreign investors pulling more than $20 billion out of the economy. The pound has lost about 51% of its value since March.

#Saudi Aramco bets on being the last oil major standing | Financial Times

Saudi Aramco bets on being the last oil major standing | Financial Times

In Abqaiq, the biggest oil processing facility on the planet, there is no sense the world may be coming to the end of the oil era. 

The complex, about 25 miles from the coastline of the Persian Gulf, is the size of about 350 football pitches. In one of three control rooms, a dozen Saudi Aramco staff sit behind computer screens monitoring a system that can process as much as 7mn barrels of oil per day, representing one in every 14 barrels sold worldwide. 

The crude is depressurised in silver, dome-shaped “spheroids” and then piped into 18 stabiliser columns, where impurities like dissolved gases and hydrogen sulphide are removed, before it is sent for refining. 

As the case against use of fossil fuels hardens, several of the biggest western oil companies have in the past five years reconsidered their commitment to the crude oil that has been the bedrock of the global economy for over a hundred years. Aramco is doing the opposite: it is doubling down.

#SaudiArabia's wealth fund raises Nintendo stake to 6% | Reuters

Saudi Arabia's wealth fund raises Nintendo stake to 6% | Reuters

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) has increased its stake in Japan's Nintendo Co Ltd (7974.T) to 6%, a filing showed on Thursday, reflecting the sovereign wealth fund's growing exposure to the Japanese video gaming industry.

PIF's stake in the Kyoto-based company has risen from 5.01% to 6.07%, according to the ownership report filed with Japanese regulators.

PIF revealed its 5% stake in Nintendo in a regulatory filing in May last year, stating that it was made for investment purposes. It has also taken stakes in video game companies Nexon (3659.T), Capcom (9697.T), and Koei Tecmo (3635.T). read more

Nintendo shares were down 1.8% in the morning.

Saudi Wealth Fund Joins $930 Million Pre-IPO Bet on Kakao Entertainment - Bloomberg

Saudi Wealth Fund Joins $930 Million Pre-IPO Bet on Kakao Entertainment - Bloomberg

Kakao Entertainment Corp. has won $930 million from the sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia and Singapore, securing one of the country’s largest financing rounds at a time global investors shy away from big startup bets.

The company, a unit of Korean social media giant Kakao Corp., said it’s raising 1.2 trillion won by issuing about 2.26 million shares at 255,116 won apiece to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Singapore’s Pwarp Investment, an investment vehicle of GIC Pte.

Kakao Entertainment, which runs a stable of apps that publish popular online animated shows and novels, will use the capital to expand its content. The company produces a slate of shows for Netflix Inc., capitalizing on booming interest for Korean content from K-pop to movies since the advent of “Squid Game.”

Kakao shares, which are down 37% from a year ago, fell 0.7% on Thursday.

Gulf markets subdued ahead of U.S. inflation data; SNB lifts #Saudi | Reuters

Gulf markets subdued ahead of U.S. inflation data; SNB lifts Saudi | Reuters

Most major Gulf stock markets were subdued on Thursday as sentiment across markets remained frail ahead of upcoming inflation data from the United States, although Saudi National Bank (1180.SE) boosted Saudi shares.

Monetary policy in the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is usually guided by Fed policy decisions because most regional currencies are pegged to the U.S. dollar, exposing them to direct impacts from any Fed monetary tightening.

Oil prices - a key catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets - traded mostly flat on Thursday, With Brent crude was flat at $82.67 per barrel as of 0725 GMT.

The benchmark Qatari index (.QSI) slipped 0.5%, extending losses to straight third session as Qatar National Bank (QNBK.QA), the Gulf's biggest bank by assets, dropped 2.8% despite reporting on Wednesday a 9% rise in its annual net profit.

Abu Dhabi and Dubai indexes were flat.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI), however, advanced 0.4%, boosted by a 1% jump in Saudi National Bank (1180.SE) after the board proposed to raise capital by 15.22 billion riyals ($4.05 billion) through issuing 1 bonus share for every 3 shares. The bank has also proposed a 0.6 riyals a share cash dividend for the second half.

Among other active stocks, Saudi Telecom Company (STC) (7010.SE) jumped 1.2% after it agreed with Arabian Internet and Communication Services (SOLUTIONS) (7202.SE) to sell its entire 49% stake in Contact Center Company (CCC.

Arabian Internet and Communication Services was down 0.1%.

Separately, Saudi Arabia plans to use domestically-sourced uranium to build up its nuclear power industry, energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on Wednesday.