Banking and petrochemical stocks lead Saudi shares to a higher close on Saturday after positive market data lifted global stocks on Friday. The benchmark Tadawul All Share Index closed 1.6 percent higher at 6,187.39 points. The shares in petrochemicals giant Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) ended two per cent higher while heavyweight Al Rajhi Bank added 1.7 percent. The banking index closed 2.3 percent higher while the petrochemicals index rose 1.9 percent. Early in the day, TASI rose to 6,145 points, as shares in SABIC gained as much as 2.6 percent, the most in almost two weeks, to SR88.75. Rajhi advanced 1.7 percent, the most since July 10, to SR76.5. Banque Saudi Fransi soared 3.2 percent, the most since July 11, to SR44.8. “A general feeling-good factor is pervading,” said John Sfakianakis, chief economist at Banque Saudi Fransi in Riyadh. “It is based on overall thin volumes as oil is above $78, global markets performed well over the past two days.” Over the week, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 3.2 percent to end Friday at 10,424.62 – a feat accomplished only once since April 30. The tech-rich Nasdaq composite index soared 4.2 percent to 2,269.47 while the S&P 500 index, a broad measure of the markets, scaled 3.5 percent to 1,102.66, finishing atop the 1,100 level for the first time since June 21. Oil has picked up about $2 a barrel since Monday. US light sweet crude settled at $78.98 a barrel on Friday. Brent crude closed at $77.45 on the ICE futures exchange.
