LONDON: The pound on Friday gave back some of the gains it made the day before as investors reassessed whether British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had made any progress in convincing the European Union to renegotiate the Brexit withdrawal agreement.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s comments on Thursday that a solution to the Irish border question post-Brexit could be found before Oct. 31, the deadline for Britain to leave the EU, triggered a sharp rally in the pound.
But many analysts said the comments reflected market positioning rather than any confidence Britain and the EU would renegotiate their agreement to avoid a no-deal Brexit.
“The market is very short and that is naturally going to make the market very sensitive to any news (that makes them think)...have we got this wrong?,” said Jane Foley, a strategist at Rabobank.
“I’ve not read an awful lot into these moves,” she said, adding that thin summer liquidity had exacerbated this week’s volatility.
Sterling fell 0.5% to $1.2197 on Friday, retreating from the 3-week high hit on Thursday.
Versus euro the pound was down 0.4% on the day at 90.770 pence.
Sterling falls as doubts about Brexit backstop hopes grow
Sterling falls as doubts about Brexit backstop hopes grow
- Sterling fell 0.5% to $1.2197 on Friday, retreating from the 3-week high hit on Thursday
- Angela Merkel previously suggested a solution to the Irish border question could be found
Closing Bell: Saudi main index closes in red at 10,847
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index dipped on Wednesday, losing 58.51 points, or 0.54 percent, to close at 10,847.93.
The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR3.78 billion ($1 billion), as 73 of the listed stocks advanced, while 187 retreated.
The MSCI Tadawul Index decreased, down 7.09 points or 0.48 percent, to close at 1,472.98.
The Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu lost 178.75 points, or 0.77 percent, to close at 22,916.83. This comes as 30 of the listed stocks advanced, while 37 retreated.
The best-performing stock was the Power and Water Utility Co. for Jubail and Yanbu, with its share price surging by 8.47 percent to SR31.24.
Other top performers included Saudi Paper Manufacturing Co., which saw its share price rise by 6.13 percent to SR53.70, and Jamjoom Pharmaceuticals Factory Co., which saw a 4.58 percent increase to SR137.
On the downside, the worst performer of the day was CHUBB Arabia Cooperative Insurance Co., whose share price fell by 5.14 percent to SR17.53.
Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co. and Arabian Internet and Communications Services Co. also saw declines, with their shares dropping by 4.87 percent and 4.43 percent to SR4.88 and SR181.40, respectively.
On the announcement front, Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co. announced its annual financial results for 2025, with sales dropping 3.06 percent year-on-year to SR8.45 billion. The company also recorded a net loss of SR893.86 million.
In a Tadawul statement, the company said the net loss and decline in annual sales were driven by a drop in average selling prices, despite higher sales volumes.
