JEDDAH, 24 December 2005 — The Saudi stock market suffered a decline of 194.94 points, or 1.15 percent, in volatile trading last week. The Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) closed Thursday at 16,793.14 compared to previous week’s closing of 16,988.08.

On Thursday, the index gained 152.18 points with the banking sector dominating the trading.

On Thursday, shares of Al-Rajhi Banking & Investment Cop. jumped 3.97 percent to SR2,722; The Saudi British Bank by 2.73 percent to SR1,550; Riyad Bank by 1.74 percent to SR849.50; and Bank Albilad by 1.21 percent to SR858.25.

The value of shares traded crossed SR14 billion on Thursday.

TASI is currently 104.64 percent higher than at the year’s start.

Saudi Arabia Refineries Co. was top gainer for the week with an increase of 77.13 percent at SR5,012.75.

Jarir Marketing Co. shares closed the week at SR980, down 19.54 percent.

Arriyadh Development Co. was most active by value as SR8.82 worth of shares changed hands last week.

Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) shares declined 6.90 percent last week to SR1,615.

Saudi Electricity Co. shares also gained slightly to SR140.50.

In the telecom sector, shares of Saudi Telecom Co. (STC) and Etihad Etisalat rose 2.68 percent to SR947 and 6.20 percent to SR736 last week, respectively.

The cement sector was in a positive territory as shares of all companies edged higher last week.

Shares of Hail Agriculture and Jouff Agriculture dropped, while other companies registered an increase in prices in the agriculture sector last week.

Last week’s stock trading reached SR160 billion compared to SR155.67 billion in the previous week.

Meanwhile, Kuwaiti stocks also edged lower last week with the KSE all-share price index falling 0.3 percent and closing at 11,398.50 points, down from 11,428.50 points previous week.

Arab stock markets are expected to be cautious in the coming couple of weeks, as investors await the publication of 2005 results and appraise the level of liquidity in the market in the wake of a spate of capital raisings and the establishment of new firms, financial analysts said yesterday.

“Markets are currently passing through a period of caution and a wait-and-see approach pending the publication of 2005 results,” Wajdi Makhamreh, head of brokerage at the Jordan Finance & Investment Bank told Arab News. “Investors are also evaluating the level of liquidity in the market following a wave of raising capitals of already existing companies and the establishment of new firms.”

However Makhamreh and other portfolio managers expected regional markets to gain momentum in the first two weeks of January, propelled by surplus petrodollars accumulated by Arab Gulf states over the past year.

“I believe revenue surpluses will have to seek investment outlets, firstly at home and secondly in neighboring stock markets, including Jordan,” Makhamreh said.

The Amman Stock Exchange continued to fluctuate this week for the third week in a row, reflecting ups and downs in the level of liquidity in the market. The ASE all-share price index shed 0.25 percent last week closing on Thursday at 8,296 points, up from 8,276 points previous week, according to the market’s weekly report.

— With input from Abdul Jalil Mustafa