Azernews.Az

By Bloomberg

Saudi stocks rose in the first trading day since the death of King Abdullah on bets the royal transition will be smooth as the late monarch’s successor signaled he would maintain policies in the Arab World’s biggest economy.

The Tadawul All Share Index gained as much as 1.1 percent before closing 0.7 percent higher at 8,480.10 as in Riyadh. Abdullah, who died on Friday aged about 90, helped drive a 27 percent rally in the region’s biggest bourse over the past four years as he oversaw a $130 billion spending plan to boost non- oil industries. His successor, King Salman, said he will continue the late king’s strategy. The market was closed Sunday to mark Abdullah’s passing.

“The succession plan is clear, things do look politically stable at the moment in Saudi and there’s no panic in the market,” Nabil Rantisi, managing director of brokerage at Mena Corp. Financial Services, said by phone from Amman, Jordan. “Yesterday’s holiday, and the fact that he passed away on Friday, gave investors time to digest the news. The market is attractive, especially as Saudi Arabia is expected to open to foreigners in the second quarter.”

King Salman, 79, retained current ministers, including Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi, easing concern over the changes as the world’s largest crude exporter contends with a decline in Brent prices. The kingdom’s plans to allow foreigners to invest in its equities market in the first half of 2015 won’t be affected by the shift in leadership, Salah Shamma, head of investment for Middle East and North Africa equity at Franklin Templeton Investments in Dubai, said by e-mail on Friday.

Savola Gains

Food processor Savola Group led the gains in Riyadh today, adding 4.2 percent, the steepest advance in two weeks. Almarai Co., which operates dairy farms, increased for the third day.

Elsewhere in the region, Dubai’s DFM General Index fell 3.6 percent to 3,723.21 and Abu Dhabi’s ADX General Index slipped 0.8 percent, tracking declines in global markets.

“There’s no catalyst to move the shares up,” Tariq Qaqish, a fund manager at Al Mal Capital PSC, said by telephone from Dubai. “The market is unable to break the resistance level of 4,000.”

Stock gauges in Kuwait and Qatar dropped 0.1 percent each and those in Oman and Bahrain’s were little changed. Stock markets in Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait didn’t trade yesterday to mark the king’s passing.

Share indexes in the Persian Gulf have been among the most volatile in the world this year as crude dropped more than 50 percent in seven months.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index lost 0.4 percent as Russia’s benchmark stock index sank with the ruble amid a surge in violence in Ukraine.