Stock markets in Saudi Arabia and Qatar posted broad-based gains on Sunday after OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers a day earlier reached their first deal since 2001 to curtail oil output jointly in a drive to prop up prices. It is not clear whether oil prices can rise much further in response to the deal, and many fund managers think Saudi petrochemical shares are to a large extent now fairly valued after their rebound in the past six weeks. Nevertheless, the oil producers› deal supported fresh buying of stocks and the Saudi stock benchmark Tadawul All Share Index added 1.1 percent to 7,198 points, its highest close this year, in heavy trade. The best performers of the session on the Tadawul All Share were Abdullah A. M. Al-Khodari Sons Co, which rose 10.21% or 1.20 points to trade at 12.95 at the close. Meanwhile, Saudi Enaya Cooperative Insurance added 9.70% or 1.45 points to end at 16.40 and Arabian Pipes Company was up 7.69% or 1.30 points to 18.20 in late trade. The worst performers of the session were Al Alamiya Cooperative Insurance, which fell 3.23% or 0.80 points to trade at 23.95 at the close. Bupa Arabia for Coop. Insurance declined 1.63% or 2.25 points to end at 135.75 and National Agriculture Development Co was down 0.61% or 0.15 points to 24.30. Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Saudi Arabia Stock Exchange by 149 to 11 and 9 ended unchanged. Shares in Arabian Pipes Company rose to 52-week highs, gaining 7.69% or 1.30 to 18.20. The Saudi petrochemical index surged 2.4 percent as higher oil prices could boost profit margins. Saudi International Petrochemical Co (Sipchem) gained 4.0 percent after saying an affiliate had signed a contract with South Korea›s eTEC E&C for work costing SR542.6 million ($144.6 million) to raise the efficiency of operations at its methanol plant in Jubail. Some insurance sector stocks favored by local retail speculators also surged, with Wafa Insurance up 6.4 percent. Elsewhere, in Qatar, the index added 1.3 percent at 10,188 points, climbing above technical resistance on the 200-day average for the first time since early November, although trading volume was modest. Mesaieed Petrochemical gained 3.7 percent and oil drilling rig provider Gulf International Services surged 2.5 percent, while Qatar Commercial Bank jumped 4.1 percent. Crude oil for January delivery was up 1.28% or 0.65 to $51.49 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in February rose 0.87% or 0.47 to hit $54.36 a barrel, while the February Gold contract fell 0.94% or 11.00 to trade at $1161.40 a troy ounce. Bourses in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt were closed. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia told the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries it pumped 10.72 million barrels per day last month, an OPEC source said, up from 10.625 million bpd in October. In July, the kingdom's production was 10.67 million bpd, the previous high. Iraq said its November output was 4.8 million bpd, up from 4.776 million bpd in October, another OPEC source said, as oil exports reached a record high of 4.051 million bpd. Kuwait reported output at 2.9 million bpd in November, lower than its 3 million bpd in October, while the United Arab Emirates kept its output virtually steady at 3.195 million bpd, according to official figures reported to OPEC. Saudi Arabia has pledged to reduce its output to 10.058 million bpd as part of an OPEC deal reached on Nov. 30 to lower the group's production to 32.5 million bpd.
