Riyadh: Saudi stocks dropped 2.3 percent but then recovered slightly in early trading on Saturday as Dubai's troubles spread to the Gulf's largest equities market by capitalisation.
In its first session since Dubai announced it would not guarantee the debts of the state-controlled Dubai World conglomerate, the Saudi market's main TASI index was at 6,270.58 at 0818 GMT, down from 6355.82 at its last closing on November 25.
Banking and finance stocks fell two percent percent despite central bank chief Mohammad al-Jasser's insistence on Friday that Saudi banks had only a small exposure to Dubai's problems.
"There is no danger to the banking system in the kingdom," said Jasser, governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA).
"There is no danger that should force (investors) to run away from the market," he told a TV channel.
Bureau Report
First Published: Saturday, December 05, 2009, 15:27