JEDDAH, 14 December 2005 — The Saudi stock market hit a record high yesterday as investors were in a positive mood after the announcement of the Kingdom’s budget on Monday.
Despite a fall in major banking, industrial and agriculture indices, the Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) jumped 102.25 points or 0.61 percent to an all-time high of 16,838.59 points. The previous record closing of 16,820.90 was registered last Thursday. The index crossed 16, 900 points in the morning session. but came down slightly in the evening.
Hamad Al-Sayari, governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), said the new national budget would have a positive impact on the Kingdom’s stock market. “As a result of this huge budget for 2006 and record budget surplus for 2005, we expect greater investment in the stock market,” he added.
Analysts say that an increase in financial resources of lending institutions such as Saudi Credit Bank, the Real Estate Development Fund and Saudi Industrial Development Fund would inject more liquidity into the market.
The Kingdom’s entry into the World Trade Organization on Sunday also boosted investor confidence. There was massive stock trading with the value of shares traded crossing SR32.9 billion yesterday. Out of 77 stocks traded, 28 were higher while 48 were down.