JEDDAH/AMMAN, 23 June 2007 — Saudi shares continued to suffer for the third week in a row with the Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) tumbling last Saturday and approaching its lowest point this year.

However, the market was able to recover some of its losses by the end of the week, driven by telecom and banking stocks.

TASI closed week at 7,022.05 points, down 0.7 percent from previous week’s close at 7,074.51 points.

The Saudi benchmark price is currently 11.5 percent lower that the year’s start.

“Volatility was associated with sharp correction in speculative small caps ahead of the publication of first half results,” the Bakheet Financial Advisors (BFA) said in its weekly report.

Meanwhile, the Capital Market Authority (CMA) is continuing its efforts to enhance the market’s depth by offering new investment opportunities. It will be listing on Tuesday the “Arabian Shield Cooperative Insurance” as the sixth stock in the insurance sector, the BFA said.

They expected investors to be watching the performance of blue chip firms “which will represent the market’s driving force”.

Investors pin hopes on Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co. shares, which will start trading on Tadawul from today, to make quick profits. Kayan shares expected to soar on debut.

Shares of the newly listed SABB Takaful and Saudi IAIC Insurance Cooperative Co. (Salama) jumped 767.50 to SR86.75 and 570 percent to SR67, respectively last week.

Over SR2.56 billion worth of Salama and SR1.43 billion of SABB Takaful shares changed hands last week

Riyad Bank shares edged higher by 7.22 percent to SR52 last week.

Shares of National Agriculture Marketing Co. (Thim’ar) dropped 20.22 percent to SR54.25 and Tourism Enterprise Co. (Shams) by 18.50 percent to SR46.25 last week.

Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) shares fell 1.75 percent last week to SR112.50. In the telecom sector, shares of Saudi Telecom Co. rose 1.67 percent to SR60.75 and Etihad Etisalat by 2.08 percent to SR49. The stock market turnover last week also declined to SR26.46 billion compared to SR31.78 billion in the previous week.

Arab stock markets reflected mixed performance last week, but analysts said yesterday they expected bourses to remain “cautious” in the coming few weeks as investors monitor half-year corporate results.

“I believe markets will be cautious and move sideways in the coming couple of weeks until the release of the balance sheets of listed firms for the first six months of the year, particularly blue chip companies,” an Amman-based portfolio manager told Arab News.

“However, regional stock markets will continue to make benefit from the presence of huge amounts of cash seeking investment outlets, particularly surplus petrodollars which continue to build up in the Gulf states due to adamantly soaring prices of crude,” he added.

Jordanian shares gained some new ground last week amid a move by funds to amend their positions ahead of the second half of the year, according to the AB Invest, the Arab Bank’s investment arm.

The all-share prince index of the Amman Stock Exchange closed week marginally higher at 5,825 points compared with previous week’s close at 5,804 points, according to the ASE weekly report.

Kuwaiti shares continued their strong performance last week amid growing interest in leading firms, the Global Investment House (Global) said in its weekly report. The KSE all-share price index gained 2.3 percent last week, closing at 11,943 points up from 11,676 points previous week.

The unified all-share price index of the United Arab Emirates stock exchanges of Dubai and Abu Dhabi closed steady at 4,616 points compared with 4,602 points last week. The UAE benchmark price gained 14.5 percent since the beginning of the year, analysts said.

Palestinian stocks responded positively to the declaration by the United States and the European Union that they would be resuming financial aid to the Palestinian Authority after the formation of an emergency cabinet led by the US-educated economist Salam Fayyad.

The Palestinian Jerusalem all-share price index climbed 12.63 percent last week, closing at 516.16 points.

The GulfBase GCC Index rose slightly last week to 5,213.45 points. The value of GCC traded shares, however, declined by 15.92 percent to $13.44 billion and volume fell 34.98 percent to 4.88 billion shares.