RIYADH, 25 July 2003 — Saudi shares surged 3.7 percent in the week ending yesterday on the back of positive mid-year financial results of the leading companies, setting a new all-time record high, traders said.
The Tadawul All-Shares Index (TASI) finished the week at 3,763.34 points from last week’s closing of 3,628.89 points.
The TASI is 49.5 percent higher than at the start of 2003. The index set several new records during the week, especially after Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) declared better-than-expected profits on Monday.
During the week, SABIC surged 219 percent and Saudi Electricity Co. (SEC) gained 5.4 percent, while market leader Saudi Telecom dropped 2.3 percent after weeks of sustained gains.
Since the start of the year, SABIC has gained 69 percent, Saudi Telecom 123.7 percent and SEC 88.1 percent.
Prices of 47 firms increased this week, 17 companies dropped, while three issues were unchanged. Two companies did not trade. Trading value rose 45.7 percent to SR22.2 billion ($5.9 billion) from SR15.2 billion ($4.05 billion) last week.