JEDDAH, 4 March 2006 — The Saudi stock market plummeted last week. The Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) dived 10.37 percent in a week to close on Thursday at 18,486.24 points compared to the previous week’s close at 20,624.84 points. The index lost 765.33 points on Thursday and 2,138.60 points in a week. TASI is still 10.6 percent higher than the year’s start.

The stock market turnover plunged to SR109 billion last week compared to SR239.36 billion in the previous week.

Bishah Agriculture shares dropped 26.38 percent in a week to close at SR1,465 and Filling & Packing Materials Manufacturing Co. by 26.30 percent to SR1,457.

Saudi Electricity Co. stocks fell 25.47 percent to close at SR199 with SR9.78 worth of shares changing hands in a week.

Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) shares declined 9.76 percent in a week to SR1,637.

However, the Riyadh-based Bakheet Financial Advisors (BFA) attributed the sharp retreat to the “large unjustified gains that many traded stocks witnessed in the previous weeks, especially speculative-grade stocks”.

The BFA expected investors “to continue re-evaluating their portfolios and to focus on stocks of positive financial indicators.”

Arab stock markets also nose-dived last week as a spree of panic sell-offs hit most of bourses, and financial analysts predicted on Thursday that the “bearish trend” could persist for a few weeks ahead of the publication of first quarter results. “I believe the bearish trend could last for a few weeks in the absence of moving factors,” an Amman-based portfolio manager told Arab News.

“Investors are apparently taking a wait-and-see approach. Their attention will focus in the coming weeks on the first quarter results of listed firms, mainly blue chips, which are due to start coming out early in April,” he said, asking anonymity.

He pointed out that prices of most of Arab stocks went up rapidly over the past couple of years “making strong downward corrections inevitable.”

Jordanian shares extended losses last week with the all-share price index of the Amman Stock Exchange slipping 7.1 percent amid thin trading. The benchmark price closed on Thursday at 7,263 points, down from 7,825 points previous week, according to the ASE weekly report.

Analysts attributed the decline mainly to a liquidity shortage resulting from the establishment of new firms and raising the capital of existing companies. “A handful of longer-term investors are seeing this as an ideal buying opportunity, particularly on several solid companies that have been unjustifiably beaten down,” said the Atlas Investment Group, the Arab Bank’s investment arm.

Kuwait’s KSE all-share price index shed 2 percent last week, closing at 11,467 points down from previous week’s close at 11,687 points.

The unified all-share price index of the United Arab Emirates stock exchanges of Dubai and Abu Dhabi closed marginally lower at 5,938 points compared with last week’s close at 5,965 points.

Egypt’s Hermes all-share benchmark price also shed about 3.2 percent last week, closing at 60,000 points down from 61,965 points previous week.

— With input from Abdul Jalil Mustafa