Saudi Arabian shares gained for a second day, led by agriculture and food stocks, as the purchase of stakes in two food and beverage producers by US-based companies boosted sentiment. Savola Al-Azizia United Co., a Saudi food maker, is on its longest winning streak since February 2010 and Jarir Marketing Co. is headed toward a record high. The Tadawul All Share Index added 0.24 percent to 6,253.66 points. The 149-company gauge extended its two-day gain to 0.9 percent. Four stocks rose for each that declined. “Investors are keen to shrug off the doom and gloom of Europe and focus on the positive with the view that perhaps things are not so bad,” said Asim Bukhtiar, an equity analyst at Riyad Capital. “Investments announced in the past couple of days in the consumer-goods sector by the Carlyle Group and Coca- Cola are lifting sentiment.” Carlyle Group LP, the Washington-based private-equity firm that plans to go public next year, bought a 42 percent stake in restaurant operator Alamar Foods, which operates 185 Domino's Pizza and Wendy's restaurants across 11 countries in the Middle East and North Africa, Carlyle said on Dec. 14. Coca-Cola Co., the world's largest soft-drink maker, agreed to buy about half of the equity in the beverage unit of Saudi Arabia-based Aujan Industries that holds the rights to the Rani and Barbican brands, and 49 percent of Aujan's bottling and distribution unit, the companies said on Dec. 14. The S&P 500 rebounded from a three-day slump on Dec. 15 after Labor Department figures showed initial jobless claims fell by 19,000 to 366,000 in the week ended Dec. 10, the fewest number of claims since May 2008. Savola rose for a seventh day, adding 2.2 percent to 27.50 riyals. Jarir gained as much as 2.8 percent to 217.75 riyals, its highest intraday level since Dec. 2003, when Bloomberg started tracking the stock. Benchmark crude fell 34 cents to end at $93.53 per barrel in New York. Prices fell as low as $92.52 earlier in the day. Brent crude, which is used to price foreign oil that's imported by many US refineries, fell 25 cents to finish at $103.35 a barrel in London.
