JEDDAH – Saudi shares closed flat Saturday as gains in banking stocks were offset by losses in the petrochemical index. The stock benchmark Tadawul All-Share Index closed barely up 0.01 percent at 6,887.97 points. The banking index ended 0.1 percent higher at 15,153 points and the petrochemical index ended 0.2 percent at 5,972 points. Shares in Prince Alwaleed bin Talal's Kingdom Holding Company ended 0.7 percent lower, reversing earlier gains, after it announced that it sold its interest in the Fairmont Hotel and Raffles Suites & Residences in Manila for $58.1 million. Oil fell 2 percent Friday as traders fretted that jobs aren't growing fast enough in the US to significantly boost demand for fuel. Benchmark oil closed down $1.83 to $89.88 per barrel in New York. Oil prices were volatile toward the end of the week as traders try to gauge the strength of global oil demand while also watching developments surrounding Syria for any signs of a disruption in supplies from the Middle East. The last time oil had a three-day stretch where it gained or lost 2 percent or more each day was from June 20 to June 22. In London, Brent crude, which is used to price international varieties of oil, fell 56 cents to $112.02 per barrel. US stocks fell flat in late trade Friday giving up early gains on the back of strong September data on unemployment and later figures showing a pickup in consumer credit-based spending. At the closing bell the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 34.79 points (0.26 percent) at 13,610.15. S&P 500 slipped 0.47 (0.03 percent) at 1,460.93, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite lost 13.27 (0.42 percent) to 3,136.19. At the close, London's FTSE 100 index of leading companies was 0.74 percent higher at 5,871.02 points. In Frankfurt, the Dax 30 rose by 1.27 percent to 7,397.87 points. – SG
