Saudi Arabia's stock market pulls back as Egypt stalls

Saudi Arabia's stock market pulled back in early trade on Wednesday as buying in blue chips petered out, while Egypt's market stalled.

The Saudi index had surged 7.4 percent on Tuesday in the highest trading volume since May 2014, rebounding after losing 23 percent in the month of August.

With global oil prices and equities still shaky, however, there was little follow-through buying on Wednesday morning and the index was down 1.7 percent in the opening minutes.

Saudi Basic Industries, which had jumped its 10 percent daily limit on Tuesday, pulled back 1.6 percent. Alinma Bank, which had also gained 10 percent, slipped 0.8 percent.

Selling was not indiscriminate, however, and there was continued bargain-hunting in some second- or third-tier stocks, such as healthcare provider Bupa Arabia, up 3.2 percent.

Egypt's index, which had risen 2.8 percent on Tuesday, edged down 0.1 percent with eight of the 10 most heavily traded stocks lower.