Saudi Arabian shares rose to a six- week high, led by mobile-phone and petrochemicals companies, after US and European markets rallied in the week and oil prices surpassed $80. Etihad Etisalat Co., the mobile-phone company known as Mobily, and Saudi Basic Industries Corp., the world's largest petrochemicals maker, paced the advance. The 143-company benchmark Tadawul All Share Index gained 0.56 percent to 6335.57, the highest since June 26, at the close in Riyadh. “The rise is related to petrochemical valuations looking good, as well as some positive news now given that oil prices are above $80 and a bit in the telecom sector,” said John Sfakianakis, chief economist at Banque Saudi Fransi in Riyadh. “But the uptick is not significant given that the news from the US is not that auspicious.” The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 1.3 percent this week, extending last month's gain of 4.9 percent, as corporate earnings helped alleviate concern that global growth is slowing. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 1.8 percent after companies beat earnings estimates and reports showed expansion in the services and manufacturing industries. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index, which tracks developing- nation equities, advanced 2 percent, for the longest stretch of weekly gains since March. Crude oil for September delivery settled at $80.70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange yesterday. Futures rose 2.2 percent this week. Saudi Arabia holds one-fifth of the world's proven oil reserves. Mobily surged the most since January, gaining 3.3 percent, to SR54.5. The Riyadh-based company, along with the kingdom's other two operators, Saudi Telecom Co. and Zain Saudi Arabia, reached an agreement with Research In Motion Ltd. to continue services in the Arab world's largest economy after the Canadian company decided to let the Kingdom's telecom regulator monitor BlackBerry services. SABIC advanced 0.3 percent to SR88.5. Al Rajhi Bank, the largest publicly traded lender in Saudi Arabia, rose 0.3 percent, the most in a week, to SR79.25. Alujain Corp., a Saudi investor in metals-smelting and petrochemicals, soared 9.7 percent to SR14.65, the highest since May 18. The Jeddah-based company said its unit in Yanbu Industrial City, National Petrochemical Industrial Co., began commercial operations to produce polypropylene. Heavyweight Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) gained 0.3 percent. The much smaller Allujain went almost limit-up after announcing the start of commercial production at its subsidiary polypropylene complex, Natpet. Telecom stocks climbed after reports that the government is close to a deal with BlackBerry, regaining most of the losses that followed Saudi Arabia's announcement of a ban on BlackBerry messenger services. Mobily rose 3.3 percent. Saudi Telecom closed 0.8 percent higher, snapping a five-session losing streak.
