RIYADH, 9 January 2004 — The Saudi stock market closed the week yesterday up 0.4 percent following quiet trading as investors await the release of 2003 corporate results, Bakheet Financial Advisers (BFA) said.

“The Saudi stock market began its first week of 2004 quietly, due to investors’ anticipation of the soon to be published annual 2003 corporate financial results,” BFA said.

The Tadawul All-Shares Index (TASI) finished the first week of the year at 4,450.80 points, up 0.4 percent on last week’s closing of 4,432.51 points.

Trading value during the week reached SR14.5 billion ($3.8 billion), up from last week’s SR13.1 billion ($3.5 billion). Stock prices of 54 companies rose, 15 saw their shares decline and one did not trade.

Among the top 10 blue chips, the highest gains were in the Saudi British Bank and the Arab National Bank, up two percent and 1.5 percent respectively. The biggest losers were Saudi Telecom (STC) and Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC), both down by 0.6 percent.

Meanwhile, almost all stock markets in the Middle East began the year with gains.

Jordan’s ASE index led the gains, jumping 7.8 percent on the week to 2,818.3 points yesterday.

Egyptian investors brushed off the disaster which struck an Egyptian passenger plane belonging to a private charter company in the Red Sea. The Hermes index climbed 4.7 percent during the week to close at 12,192.3 points yesterday.

Qatar’s CBQ index closed at 757.58 points yesterday, up 4.3 percent.

Kuwait’s KSE index rose 4.3 percent on the week to close at 4,998.20 points Wednesday.

Oman’s MSM index gained 2.7 percent on the week, closing at 281.52 points yesterday, and the United Arab Emirates’ NBAD index climbed 1.9 percent, closing at 4,586.46 points the same day. Saudi Arabia’s TASI index rose a modest 0.4 percent to close at 4,450.80 points.

Iran’s TEPIX index rose three percent on the week. The index closed at 11,205.25 points Wednesday.

Lebanon’s BSI index shed three percent to 443.24 points yesterday because of profit-taking following its surge in the last week of 2003.