DUBAI, Jan 7 (Reuters) - A package of handouts from Saudi Arabia's King Salman may boost the Saudi stock market on Sunday while the region in general looks likely to be supported by a positive global trend.
King Salman on Saturday ordered extra monthly payments to state employees and pensioners this year as part of a package to compensate citizens for the rising cost of living after the government hiked gasoline prices and introduced value-added tax.
The decree did not say how much the package was worth; a central bank statement said it was "tens of billions of riyals", and Reuters calculations suggested it might be around 23 billion riyals ($6.1 billion) - smaller than some past handouts by Saudi kings, and not enough to make a big difference to the economy or the state budget deficit. Nevertheless, the package is a sign that authorities aim to limit damage to domestic demand from austerity measures early this year, and could therefore buoy the stock market.
The Saudi stock index , last at 7,277 points, rose on Thursday above technical resistance around 7,200 points, which had capped it since mid-December; the next significant resistance is the September peaks around 7,400 points.
Overseas, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.9 percent on Friday while MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed 0.7 percent higher. Brent oil fell but at $67.62 a barrel, remained near 2-1/2 year highs.
(Reporting by Andrew Torchia)
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