JEDDAH, 27 November 2007 — After rising for two days, the Saudi market declined yesterday. The Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) fell 84.70 points to close at 9,565.23.
Commenting on Tadawul’s recent rising trend, Ibrahim Al-Tuweijeri, a Saudi stock market observer, said the Saudi shares would continue trading on a positive note as long as there is no exaggerated speculations. Any decline not caused by unhealthy speculations would only indicate the market’s entry to a phase of healthy gains. If such a trend would continue till the end of the year, it is sure to help the general index close at a positive note in the year.
Ali Al-Fadli, technical analyst, said the recent performance of the general index of the Saudi stock market displayed its durability and sustainability to hold on to in the same track. However, the independent evaluation of the course of the general index is rather difficult because of the changing liquidity levels of the blue chip companies. He recommended that what is to be done in the present situation is to observe the course of these shares after every notable deal.
The industrial, banking and insurance sectors suffered badly yesterday. Shares of SABB rose yesterday by 1.06 percent to SR119 while shares of seven banks were in the red. Shares of two banks remained unchanged yesterday.
Shares of Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) continued to decline. SABIC shares closed 1.36 percent lower at SR162.50. In the services sector, shares of Arriyadh Development Co. jumped 4.65 percent to SR22.50 yesterday.
Saudi Electricity Co. (SEC) shares fell 1.75 percent to SR14. In the telecom sector, shares of Saudi Telecom Co. (STC) and Etihad Etisalat fell 0.32 percent to SR77.75 and 0.67 percent to SR73.25, respectively. In the insurance sector, shares of only SABB Takaful and AlAhli Takaful Co. increased while all other companies were in negative territory.
Over SR9.58 billion worth of shares changed hands yesterday compared to SR10.52 billion on Sunday.
BMG Saudi Index Down Again
The BMG Saudi Index lost 4.7 additional points in yesterday’s trading session, witnessing a decline of 0.9 percent to close at 520.55 points. The market turnover, however, went up by a slight 0.3 percent from Sunday’s turnover to reach SR3.44 billion ($929 million) versus SR4.43 billion ($927 billion) on Sunday. The fall can be attributed, in part, to the fall in the share price of SABIC, which tends to move most of the market as its share price moves. It has been a relatively lackluster start to the week and it looks like the market may be sitting on its hands in the short term, ahead of the year end.
The only sector that ended yesterday’s session on a positive note was the agricultural sector, with an increase of 0.8 percent. The industrial sector was the minimal loser in yesterday’s session, decreasing by 0.9 percent. The services and insurance sectors experienced falls of 1.4 percent and 2.0 percent, respectively.
Only 8 stocks witnessed gains, and two remained still. The best performing stock was the Saudi Land Transport Company, with a 3.9 percent rise to SR46.25 per share, whereas the worst performer was Emaar the Economic City, which dropped by 3.5 percent to close at SR20.75 per share.