JEDDAH — Saudi Arabia stocks were lower after the close on Tuesday, as losses in the Transport, Retail and Cement sectors led shares lower. At the close of trading, the Tadawul All Share Index lost 0.03%. The best performers of the session on the Tadawul All Share were The Company for Coop. Insurance, which rose 8.38% or 7.25 points to trade at 93.75 at the close. Meanwhile, Takween Advanced Industries added 5.62% or 2.30 points to end at 43.20 and The Mediterranean&Gulf Insurance Co was up 5.48% or 1.35 points to 26.00 in late trade. The worst performers of the session were Etihad Atheeb Telecommunication, which fell 4.35% or 0.25 points to trade at 5.50 at the close. United Int Transportation Company declined 3.35% or 1.60 points to end at 46.20 and Arab National Bank was down 3.30% or 1.00 points to 29.30. Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Saudi Arabia Stock Exchange by 87 to 79. Shares in United Int Transportation Company fell to 52-week lows; falling 3.35% or 1.60 to 46.20. Crude oil for October delivery was up 0.68% or 0.30 to $44.30 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in November rose 0.50% or 0.23 to hit $47.59 a barrel, while the December Gold contract fell 0.21% or 2.30 to trade at $1105.40 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in the Gulf, markets in United Arab Emirates rose as local telecommunications company Etisalat climbed 1.8 percent in its highest daily trading volume on record, having opened up to foreign and institutional investors. The Abu Dhabi stock exchange, where Etisalat is listed, edged up 0.4 percent. As the biggest listed company in the UAE, Etisalat is now very likely to secure a place in emerging market indexes, attracting global funds. Previously, only local retail investors could buy the stock. Dubai's benchmark stock index rose 0.7 percent, supported by a rebound in a number of stocks after several days of declines. Property developer DAMAC jumped 3.5 percent ahead of a shareholder meeting later in the day which will vote on the firm's first cash dividend since it listed in Dubai in January. Other Gulf markets were soft. Qatar edged down 0.3 percent, Kuwait fell 0.6 percent and Oman was down 0.4 percent. Meanwhile, US stocks rose on Tuesday after data showed retail sales continued to climb in August but investors remained cautious ahead of this week's Federal Reserve meeting. US consumer spending appeared to grow at a healthy pace halfway through the third quarter, pointing to solid domestic demand that could persuade the Fed to raise interest rates. Analysts said an interest rate hike would remove the uncertainty that has dogged the market for several weeks. After the retail data, traders raised their bets the Fed would raise rates later this week to 27 percent from 23 percent on Monday, according to CME Group's FedWatch program. “Uncertainty about the Fed's likely decision continues. If there is no rate hike on Thursday, it could also give a signal that the Fed has some concerns about the health of the economy,” said Christian Stocker, strategist at UniCredit in Munich. Seven of the 10 major S&P sectors were up. — SG/Agencies
