Banks and industrial stocks in Saudi Arabia rose, lifting the Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) to its highest close since June 27.

TASI on Sunday made its second gain for the week and climbed up 32.96 points and ended at 6,316.69 points. The market crossed and holds above the psychological support level of 6300 points The RSI is also on an upward rising movement reaching 59.53 and TASI still is above the 10, 20 and 50 days moving average. The liquidity for the day climbed up to SR2.85 billion as compared to SR2.21 billion on Saturday, the Financial Transaction House (FTH) said in its daily market commentary.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, Aldar posted a second-quarter net loss of more than $129 millions, due to lower property sales and investment values. In addition, it was also hit by a rating downgrade by Standard & Poor’s. The company’s shares ended 1.6 percent lower, recovering slightly after hitting a 16-month low.

“The downgrade reflects our view of the very challenging real estate market conditions in Abu Dhabi,” said Standard & Poor’s credit analyst Tommy Trask, “and the reliance of Aldar’s future earnings and cash flow on continued demand for both sale and rental of property and land.”

“Moving into H2 2010, Aldar will witness a spike in unit deliveries and the commercial launch of new investment properties — positively impacting the income statement,” said Shuaa Securities analyst Roy Cherry.   “However, with the prevailing real estate market conditions, the fact that Aldar remains the most leveraged among the top-three listed UAE developers and the connotations of the premature partial settlement of the Abu Dhabi government loan — lead us to remain cautious on this name,” he added.

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank also disappointed investors after reporting a loss for the quarter. Its shares fell 1.2 percent.   The bank said it holds 6.6 billion dirhams worth of exposure to indebted state conglomerate Dubai World.

“ADCB’s top-line trajectory, though out of momentum remains satisfactory yet its asset quality and subsequent provisioning remain worrisome,” said Global Investment House.

“The bank has nevertheless taken in full the provisions required for DW (and related entities), which being much lower than our expectations, does lead us to subscribe to the idea that better than previously estimated results may ensue for 2010,” it added. Oman’s bourse ended higher for a fourth straight session, climbing to a two-month high at 6,331 points.

“Global markets, petroleum prices between $70 and $80, trade surplus: all these things are fueling sentiment,” said Shailendra Singh, investment manager at Al-Shurooq Securities.

“We expect that in near-term the index will trade between 6,290 points and 6,355 points,” said Gunjan Gupta, head of research at Oman Arab Bank.
 
— With input from agencies