MENA shares mixed, pressured by the fall of oil prices

MENA shares ended Wednesday’s session in mixed territories pressured by the fall of oil prices.

Bahraini shares were higher on today’s session as the primary Bahraini index BAX added 0.43 percent or 5.55 points to end the session in the at 1,310.51 supported by gains in the Basic Materials sector.

On the other hand, Qatar equities closed the session on the negative notes as QSI fell by 1.12 percent or 115.54 points to end the session at 10,199.08 pressured by losses in the Energy and Basic Materials sectors.

In stocks news, Qatar Fuel Co was the biggest loser on the index, dropping by 10 percent, while Mesaieed Petrochemical was down 1.5 percent.

Doha Bank was the second-worst performer losing 6.3 percent after MSCI moved it from the Qatar standard index to a small cap index.

On the energy front, Oil rose on Wednesday ‘s session on the growing prospect of OPEC and allied producers cutting output at a meeting next month to prop up the market.

WTI Oil prices rose on today’s session to trade at 56.63 USD per barrel at 17:00 GMT.

Saudi Stock Market:

Saudi Arabia stocks were lower on today’s trading session. Saudi’s primary index TASI fell by 1.17 percent or 91.07 to settle at 7,659.8 pressured by losses in the Basic Materials and Consumer Non- Cyclical sectors.

Regarding stocks, All 14 petrochemical stocks declined, with the biggest, Saudi Basic Industries, losing 1.8 percent. Eleven of 12 banking stocks also dropped as the largest, National Commercial Bank, declined 2.4 percent.

United Arab Emirates Stock Market:

UAE shares closed today’s trading session on green notes.

Abu Dhabi equities closed today ’s session in the green as Abu Dhabi’s leading benchmark ADI roes by 1.1 percent to settle at 5,021.17.

First Abu Dhabi Bank, the largest lender in the United Arab Emirates, added 2.8 percent after MSCI decided to double its weight in the MSCI emerging markets standard index.

moreover, Dubai shares were trading higher as DFMGI edged higher by 0.03 percent or 0.87 points to settle at 2,776.38  due to losses in the Utilities sector.

In the corporate space, Dubai Investments dropped 3.8 percent after MSCI decided to downgrade the stock to its UAE small-cap index from its United Arab Emirates standard index.

Egypt Stock Market:

Egyptian shares were lower on Tuesday as EGX30 fell by 0.42  percent or 56.44  points to settle at 13,487.2  pressured by losses in Consumer Cyclicals and Industrials sectors.

Pioneers Holding Company was the worst performer in the session as its stock dropped by 7.4 percent, followed by Palm Hills Developments l which fell by  3.27 percent.