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DUBAI, Dec 25 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's stock market surged in early trade on Sunday in response to the release of the 2017 state budget, which includes an increase in government spending next year to support flagging economic growth.
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The Saudi stock index
.TASI
added 1.1 percent to 7,167 points in the first 15 minutes, nearing technical resistance on this year's peak of 7,235 points, hit earlier this month.
Utility Saudi Electricity
5110.SE
jumped 6.6 percent after the government said in the budget it would raise domestic fuel and electricity prices by unspecified margins later this year.
The petrochemical sector was generally strong after the government said it would not raise gas feedstock prices before 2019. A feedstock price hike in the 2016 budget squeezed some petrochemical producers' margins.
Construction firm Abdullah Abdul Mohsin al-Khodari and Sons
1330.SE
gained 1.9 percent after the government pledged to raise infrastructure spending, said it had settled unpaid bills to the private sector and promised to settle future bills within 60 days of receiving them. The construction sector was plagued by delays in recovering money from the government this year.
Zain Saudi
7030.SE
rose 1.2 percent after saying it was in talks to sell its mobile transmitter towers to a consortium of TASC SAL and ACWA Holding
IPO-ACWA.SE
.
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Rival Mobily
7020.SE
underperformed the market slightly, edging up 0.4 percent, after the United Arab Emirates' Etisalat
ETEL.AD
, which owns 27.4 percent of Mobily, said its management agreement with Mobily had expired.
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Elsewhere in the Gulf, markets moved little and trade was thin because of the absence of foreign investors during the Christmas holidays.
Dubai's index
.DFMGI
was almost flat and Abu Dhabi
.ADI
edged up 0.2 percent as Etisalat rose 1.1 percent. Qatar's index
.QSI
inched up 0.1 percent.
(Reporting by Andrew Torchia; Editing by Paul Tait) ((andrew.torchia@thomsonreuters.com)(+9715 6681 7277)(Reuters Messaging: andrew.torchia.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
The Saudi stock index
Utility Saudi Electricity
The petrochemical sector was generally strong after the government said it would not raise gas feedstock prices before 2019. A feedstock price hike in the 2016 budget squeezed some petrochemical producers' margins.
Construction firm Abdullah Abdul Mohsin al-Khodari and Sons
Zain Saudi
Rival Mobily
Elsewhere in the Gulf, markets moved little and trade was thin because of the absence of foreign investors during the Christmas holidays.
Dubai's index
(Reporting by Andrew Torchia; Editing by Paul Tait) ((andrew.torchia@thomsonreuters.com)(+9715 6681 7277)(Reuters Messaging: andrew.torchia.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))