Saudi bourse gains on rising oil prices; Egypt falls 

Saudi bourse gains on rising oil prices; Egypt falls 

New York: Saudi Arabia’s stock market ended higher on Sunday in response to Friday’s sharp rise in oil prices, while the Egyptian index slipped into negative territory following a recent rally. Crude prices — a key driver of the Gulf’s financial markets — settled up by more than 5 percent on Friday amid uncertainty around future interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve, while a looming EU ban on Russian oil and the possibility of China easing some COVID restrictions supported markets. The Tadawul All Share Index gained 0.7 percent, led by a 1.6 percent jump in oil giant Saudi Aramco and a 0.5 percent increase in Al Rajhi Bank. Saudi Arabian Mining Co. was up 1.5 percent. The Kingdom is considering setting up a new metals and mining stock exchange index as it looks to expand its resources sector to diversify away from hydrocarbons, a senior government official said. The minister of industry and mineral resources Bandar Alkhorayef said that Saudi Arabia is investigating the possibility of setting up a new metals and mining stock exchange index. Alkhorayef said the separate index for mining would help put more focus on Saudi’s mining industry, and will enable them to