Saudi Arabian shares retreated the most since May on concern political unrest could spread in the Middle East after Egyptian protesters clashed with police and the North African country’s president refused to resign.
The Tadawul All Share Index tumbled 6.4 percent, the most since May 25, to 6,267.22 at the 3:30 p.m. close in Riyadh. All but one of the 146 shares fell. Saudi Basic Industries Corp., the world’s largest petrochemical maker, slumped 7.5 percent. Savola Azizia United Co., a food producer with subsidiaries in Egypt, dropped 10 percent, the maximum fluctuation allowed in a single trading session.
“There is a lot of worry looming among investors that we’re going to see a domino effect across the region,” said Amro Halwani, a trader at Shuaa Capital PSC in Riyadh. “That is pushing investors away from equities and straight into cash. It is panic selling across the board.”
Stocks worldwide plunged the most since November, with the MSCI World Index declining 1.4 percent yesterday, and crude oil posted the biggest jump since 2009 after protesters posed the biggest challenge to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule. Egyptian stocks on Jan. 27 tumbled the most in more than two years, with the EGX30 Index plunging 11 percent. The Egyptian bourse and banks will be closed tomorrow due to the unrest in the country, Egypt’s state TV said today.
For more: Saudi Arabian Stocks Tumble Most in Eight Months as Egyptians Defy Curfew - Bloomberg
No comments:
Post a Comment