By: Mahmoud Gamal
Mubasher: The rise of oil to approach $53 supports the rise of most of the gulf markets on Sunday, after the OPEC decision to cut the crude production to reduce the global glut, analysts said.
GCC markets increased by the end of the previous session; The Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) advanced 3.5%, backed by the petrochemical sector.
Brent crude oil added 0.9% to $52 per barrel, gaining $0.52 on Friday, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) increased 1.2% to $51.68 per barrel.
The return of oil to above the level of $52 per barrel, approaching the levels of $53-$54, will increase of the gains of most of the GCC markets in the first session of the week, technical analyst, Ahmed Aql, told Mubasher.
He added that the interesting prices that most of the GCC shares reached after the huge pressure they faced had a great impact on the strong positive return of most of the markets by the end of the last week.
Reducing the production in the last OPEC meeting pushed most of the region's markets towards rebounding to the upward track, technically supported by the rise in oil prices, which hit its highest this year, Aql said.
Liquidity levels are likely to level up by the end of the fourth quarter of the year and approaching the fiscal year financial announcements, adding to the readiness of the portfolios to move to the operating stocks before the dividends distribution season, Adullah Al Otaibi, technical analyst, told Mubasher.
Al Otaibi advised the current traders in the markets to distribute their investments over the safer stocks which depend on the operating profits.
Tadawul and Qatar Stock Exchange (QE) ended Thursday adding 1.3% and 1.2% to 7,094 points and 9,914 points, respectively.
The Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) went up 0.3% to 5,569 points, while the Muscat Securities Market (MSM) and the Bahrain Bourse increased 1.9% and 0.3% to reach 5,590 and 1,178 points, respectively.
Translated by: Sara Ghali
