Saudi shares lower after dip in oil prices

Saudi Arabian stocks opened lower after a dip in oil prices and a retreat on global equities markets, with petrochemical and banking shares among the biggest losers. The all-share index of the Arab world's biggest stock market fell 1 percent, weighed by the petrochemical index , which dropped 1 percent and the banking index, which lost 0.7 percent. Shares of bellwether Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) were down 0.8 percent, and Al Rajhi Bank dropped 0.7 percent. Oil fell on Friday and posted a second straight weekly loss as pressure from weak industrial growth in China countered news that US consumer confidence hit a four-year high. Global stocks retreated on Friday as uncertainty over Europe's festering debt crisis overcame an early bounce driven by better-than-expected US consumer sentiment, while oil prices fell after weak data from China reduced demand expectations.