Saudi Stocks Plunge as it Welcomes New Trading Week

Saudi shares welcomed the new trading week in the red amid news from major companies and ahead of economic data in the week.

The index closed the trading day 1.21% lower with 11,850.64 points, with 55 stocks in the green and 166 in the red. Bupa Arabia for Cooperative Insurance (SASE:8210) was the top gainer by 4.79% and Al-Baha Investment and Development (SASE:4130) was the stock that lost the most at 7.14%.

The Saudi Central Bank will release Tuesday its April reports for M3 money supply and private bank lending, data that helps market watchers assess the state of consumer spending in the kingdom. Elsewhere, market-moving data news include the US GDP numbers on Thursday, Chinese manufacturing data on Friday and euro area inflation will end the week.

"The main focus in the coming week will be the flash May estimate of euro area consumer price inflation due Friday. Having fallen over the first few months to 2.4%Y/Y in March, the headline HICP rate was unchanged at that level in April. And we expect it to pick back up in May to 2.6%Y/Y, which would point to a slight overshoot of the ECB’s projection for Q2," Daiwa analyst wrote in a note.

Meanwhile, London's Financial Times reported Sunday, citing unnamed sources, that the White House is preparing to lift its sales ban on offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia. An announcement is expected in the coming weeks.

On the corporate front, Saudi Arabia is eyeing a share sale for Saudi Arabian Oil (SASE:2222), d/b/a Saudi Aramco, worth $10 billion as early as June. Shares of the Saudi Arabian oil group closed 1.67% in the red.

Meanwhile, the country’s Public Investment Fund is looking into restructuring its management due to rising costs and expenses, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The sovereign wealth fund said it intends to focus its investment on projects with a bigger possibility of success to attract more international investors.