Shares in Kingdom Holding, 95 percent of which is owned by billionaire Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, dived 9.9 percent as the Saudi stock exchange opened Sunday after reports of his arrest.

The Saudi Tadawul All-Shares Index (TASI) also dropped 1.6 percent only a minute after the start of trading on the Arab world's largest stock market following a sweeping crackdown on corruption that saw the arrest of leading royals and businessmen.

Beijing on Friday hit back at a U.S. decision to exclude a Chinese bank from the American financial system over its alleged ties to North Korea, slamming the move as "long-armed jurisdiction."

Alibaba launched an electronic trading hub in Malaysia Friday aimed at helping small- and medium-sized businesses, a first for the Chinese internet giant outside its home country.

Wall Street stocks treaded water early Friday after a solid October jobs report and strong earnings from Apple that boosted shares of the tech giant.

The U.S. economy added 261,000 new jobs last month as businesses reopened in the wake of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The headline jobs figure was solid, and the prior two months were revised upward.

Venezuela has called its foreign creditors to a meeting November 13 in Caracas in an effort to restructure its debt, Vice President Tareck el Aissami said Friday.

Aissami said the government is seeking commitments for a debt renegotiation.

Wall Street stocks were little changed early Thursday ahead of Apple earnings and the expected nomination of Jerome Powell as the next head of the Federal Reserve.

Apple, the last of the tech giants to report results this quarter, was down 0.3 percent as analysts awaited updates on the sales of the latest iPhones and upgraded Apple Watch.

The British pound fell Thursday after the Bank of England raised its key interest rate as investors doubted that any more monetary tightening is on its way soon.

Weakness in sterling, in turn, boosted London's main stock market index where exporters stand to gain from a falling currency.

Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways said Thursday it will suspend from next March flights to the US city of Dallas rendered unprofitable after American Airlines ended a codeshare deal with it.

In July, American Airlines said it would no longer share flights with Etihad and Qatar Airways as part of its push against what it views as unfair government subsidies to Middle East carriers.

Up to 6,000 jobs will be axed in a major restructuring at National Australia Bank, the lender said Thursday after posting Aus$5.28 billion (US$4.1 billion) in annual net profits.

The positions will go as the bank further automates and simplifies its business to reshape for a digital future. Some 2,000 new jobs will be created.

Some 10,000 UK financial services jobs could move abroad on the first day of Brexit, the Bank of England predicted Wednesday after warnings of up to 75,000 relocations in total.