The BMG Saudi Index continued its downhill trend in the second trading session this week, witnessing a decline of 1.9 percent to reach 504.7 points. The market turnover also moved down by 11.3 percent to reach SR3.0 billion ($799 million) in trading yesterday. This rather negative start to the week indicates that investors seem to be in the mood to sell and take profits to lock in and collect some gains.
The BMG Saudi Index sectors ended yesterday’s session on a mixed note. The Insurance and Services sectors moved up by 2.6 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively, while the Agricultural sector dropped by a marginal 0.2 percent, while the Industrial sector was the worst performer, falling by 2.3 percent.
Although 15 stocks’ prices advanced, the index was not able to strengthen in yesterday’s session because it was pulled down by the share price of Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC), the largest market cap stock in the index, which slid by 2.6 percent to close at SR160.25 per share. The best performing stock was Tihama, with its shares rising by 4.6 percent SR46.