Saudi seen steady despite global woes

Saudi Arabia's index may hold firm on Wednesday as bargain hunters return to the market, while other Gulf Arab bourses face more selling pressure as declines in global stocks further sours sentiment. Saudi's index on Tuesday rose 0.5 percent, rebounding from the previous day's 12-week low to trim its May losses to 6 percent as buyers stepped in to pick up stocks at lower prices. "If there is further pullback in Saudi on global macro (worries), Saudi will hold ground better than other markets - I wouldn't expect a meaningful retracement from these levels," says Amer Khan, fund manager at Shuaa Asset Management. "But if you're expecting a bounce from these levels, don't forget that oil has fallen quite a bit and that drives Saudi sentiment." Oil prices and Asian shares are down on Wednesday as fears of a Greek exit from the euro zone further sours sentiment, with these worries also likely to weigh on other Gulf markets. Egypt's benchmark index fell 1.1 percent on Tuesday, declining for a fourth session in five, with investors cutting risk ahead of a presidential election that is unlikely to clear up an uncertain economic outlook. In Kuwait, logistics firm Agility may fall after the firm reported an 8.1 percent drop in first-quarter profit.