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Saudi Stocks Overcome ‘Aramco Test’ Pressure

A view shows branded oil tanks at Saudi Aramco oil facility in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia October 12, 2019. (Reuters)
A view shows branded oil tanks at Saudi Aramco oil facility in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia October 12, 2019. (Reuters)
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Saudi Stocks Overcome ‘Aramco Test’ Pressure

A view shows branded oil tanks at Saudi Aramco oil facility in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia October 12, 2019. (Reuters)
A view shows branded oil tanks at Saudi Aramco oil facility in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia October 12, 2019. (Reuters)

The Saudi stock market index achieve gains of 2.4 percent in the past two days, recovering from Sunday’s drop of 1.99 percent in wake of Saudi Aramco’s announcement that the company will launch its initial public offering (IPO) on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul).

The stock market index had closed at 7,744 points on Thursday, while it closed at 7,782 points on Tuesday, recovering from the Aramco announcement.

The impact of the move still lingers on the monetary liquidity into the trading of the daily shares market.

This is not expected to have a negative effect because the traded liquidity volume has risen during the past two days compared to Thursday and Sunday.

The traded liquidity saw an increase of around SAR600 million (USD600 million) compared to Sunday.

This indicates that trading in the Saudi stock market is returning to normal, while investors anticipate the announcement of the biggest IPO.

Aramco listing in the local stock market is expected to boost the attractiveness and competitiveness of the capital market.

The stock market index closed on Tuesday with gains of around 129 points, a rise of 1.69 percent.

These gains would be added to Monday’s gains of around 0.8 percent while the traded monetary liquidity saw a remarkable rise in the past two days to reach SAR2.6 billion (USD712 million) compared to around SAR2.1 billion (USD560 million) on Sunday.

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Washington Urges Israel to Extend Cooperation with Palestinian Banks

A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
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Washington Urges Israel to Extend Cooperation with Palestinian Banks

A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)

The United States on Thursday called on Israel to extend its cooperation with Palestinian banks for another year, to avoid blocking vital transactions in the occupied West Bank.

"I am glad that Israel has allowed its banks to continue cooperating with Palestinian banks, but I remain convinced that a one-year extension of the waiver to facilitate this cooperation is needed," US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday, on the sidelines of a meeting of G20 finance ministers in Rio de Janeiro.

In May, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich threatened to cut off a vital banking channel between Israel and the West Bank in response to three European countries recognizing the State of Palestine.

On June 30, however, Smotrich extended a waiver that allows cooperation between Israel's banking system and Palestinian banks in the occupied West Bank for four months, according to Israeli media, according to AFP.

The Times of Israel newspaper reported that the decision on the waiver was made at a cabinet meeting in a "move that saw Israel legalize several West Bank settlement outposts."

The waiver was due to expire at the end of June, and the extension permitted Israeli banks to process payments for salaries and services to the Palestinian Authority in shekels, averting a blow to a Palestinian economy already devastated by the war in Gaza.

The Israeli threat raised serious concerns in the United States, which said at the time it feared "a humanitarian crisis" if banking ties were cut.

According to Washington, these banking channels are key to nearly $8 billion of imports from Israel to the West Bank, including electricity, water, fuel and food.