RIYADH, 20 February 2004 — Saudi shares rose nearly two percent to end the week yesterday on a new all-time high due mainly to strong financial results for market leader Saudi Telecom Co. (STC), Bakheet Financial Advisers (BFA) said.
The Tadawul All-Shares Index (TASI) finished the week at 4,685.34 points, up 1.8 percent on last week’s closing of 4,601.11 points. The TASI, which climbed above the psychological 4,000-point barrier in mid-August last year, is now up 5.6 percent on the year. The market’s new high was “supported by many positive factors, most importantly the announcement of strong financial results for STC” which reported “record profits of SR8.5 billion ($2.3 billion), with a 140 percent increase on 2002 results,” BFA said.
The market was also “pushed by an increase in Saudi Basic Industries Corp. and Al-Rajhi Banking (and Investment Corp.) with 4.2 percent and 2.5 percent respectively.” The two combined represent 24 percent of the market size, it said. “Some of the services and manufacturing sector stocks witnessed high increases due to speculation,” BFA added.
Trading value during the week reached SR24.1 billion ($6.5 billion), up on last week’s SR16.7 billion ($4.5 billion), with the National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (NSCSA) the most actively traded. Stock prices of 57 companies rose, 11 saw their shares decline and two were unchanged. The only blue chip loser was Samba Financial Group, which fell by 1.3 percent.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian stock market registered a sharp drop in the past week. The HFI index closed yesterday at 12,739.75 points, down 8.6 percent from last week’s 13,936.74 points).
In Jordan, the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) closed at 2,725.6 points, down four percent from 2,841.10 points last week.
In Kuwait City, the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) index finished the week at 5,308.40 points, up 0.8 percent on last week’s closing of 5,264.90 points. The index has already gained 10.8 percent this year and set a record high of 5,330.80 points at the close on Feb. 16. In Qatar, the CBQ index registered an increase of 3.2 percent, closing at 787.28 points, compared to 762.41 points last week.
In Muscat, Oman’s MSM index finished at 295.55 points, down slightly from 296.64 points last week. The NBAD index in the United Arab Emirates climbed slightly, ending the week at 4,818.11 points compared to 4,812.16 points a week earlier.
In Bahrain, the BSE index closed at 2,327.69 points, up from 2,322.5 last week. In the Palestinian territories, the Al-Qods closed at 178.27 points, up from 175.68 points last yesterday. In Beirut, the BSI (Blom Stock Index) ended yesterday at 449.26 points, down slightly from 450.52 a week ago.
In Tehran, the Tepix index closed Wednesday at 10,911.26 points, down 0.8 percent from 11,004.44 points a week earlier.