By Ateeq Shariff
Saudi Arabian stock market nudged lower on Sunday, following losses from the prior session as investors harvested profits after a dynamic rally, spurred by anticipated reforms in foreign ownership policies, while the Qatari index ended higher.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index TADAWUL:TASI fell 0.7%, dragged down by a 3.2% fall in Al Rajhi Bank TADAWUL:1120 and a 3% decline in Saudi National Bank TADAWUL:1180.
On Wednesday, the Saudi bourse soared 5.1%, marking its largest single-day gain in over five years, driven by broad-based strength following a Bloomberg News report that regulators may relax the 49% foreign ownership cap on listed companies, a move anticipated to attract significant new foreign investment to the region's leading equity market.
In Qatar, the index QSE:GNRI added 0.2%, helped by a 1.3% rise in Qatar Islamic Bank QSE:QIBK.
Oil prices - a catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets - rose on Friday as Ukraine's drone attacks on Russia's energy infrastructure cut the country's fuel exports.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index EGX:EGX30 advanced 1.4%, led by a 1.9% rise in Commercial International Bank EGX:COMI, after the lender's shareholders approved using part of the general reserve to boost the issued and paid-in capital by EGP 3.07 billion ($63.83 million).
Saudi Arabia
TADAWUL:TASI fell 0.7% to 11,230
Qatar
QSE:GNRI gained 0.2% to 10,978
Egypt
EGX:EGX30 rose 1.4% to 36,166
Bahrain
BAHRAIN:BHBX eased 0.1% to 1,950
Oman
(.MSX30) added 0.8% to 5,159
Kuwait
(.BKP) lost 0.3% to 9,334
($1 = 48.1000 Egyptian pounds)