JEDDAH, 28 December 2005 — Saudi stocks rose slightly yesterday, with the Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) closing 29.65 points higher to 16,686.14. Investors are taking wait-and-see approach as this is the last week of trading for the year.
The Banking and Industrial Indices increased yesterday though bank stocks showed mixed performance. Shares of Saudi Hollandi Bank, Banque Saudi Fransi, The Saudi British Bank and Arab National Bank rose while shares of other banks declined.
The Banking Index closed at 40,703.12, up 59.02 points. Rise in shares of major industrial companies such as Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC), Saudi Arabia Refineries Co. (SARCO), Saudi Pharmaceutical Industries & Medical Appliances Corp., Arabian Pipes Co., Saudi Industrial Investment Co. and Sahara Petrochemical sent the Industrial Index higher by 187.41 point to 41,150.51.
In the cement sector, shares of only Arab Cement and Qassim Cement rose while shares of all other companies fell yesterday.
Meanwhile, investors and brokers said prices of Yanbu National Petrochemicals Company (YANSAB) shares could reach SR1,000 per share as a result of huge demand and limited supply. The initial public offering (IPO) of YANSAB has so far attracted more than 6.4 million Saudi subscribers who invested over SR4.2 billion during the past eight days.
Samba Financial Group, which is managing the IPO, said 57 percent of subscribers completed the process through banks while 43 percent of investors used electronic means such as the Internet (eight percent), telephones (15 percent) and ATMs (20 percent).