JEDDAH - The Saudi stock market tumbled as the initial public offering of Zain, the Kingdom's third mobile phone operator, began yesterday.
Trading also began for the first time in another insurance company yesterday. Trade Union Cooperative Insurance Co. shares opened at SR85 and reached a high of SR92 before settling at SR48 during the trading yesterday.
Trade Union became the 17th company in the insurance sector to be traded. A new insurance company, Al-Sagr Company for Cooperative Insurance, is set to begin trading on Tadawul today.
The Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) plunged 350.28 points or 3.69 percent to 9,134.13 yesterday. The index is expected to go below 9,000 points this week as uncertainty grips the market.
Continued selling by retail investors hammered petrochemical and banking stocks. Shares of Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) dropped by 4.60 percent to SR155.25, its lowest level for nearly three months. Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Company's shares declined by 9.57 percent to SR21.25 and Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Co. (Petro Rabigh) by 5.07 percent to SR46.75.
Sahara Petrochemical's shares also fell 5.45 percent to SR39 yesterday.
In the banking sector, the only gainer was SABB while shares of all other banks declined yesterday.
SABB's sharer increased by 0.34 percent to SR146.50. Shares of Bank AlJazira fell by 4.82 percent, Al-Rajhi Bank by 4.52 percent, the Saudi Investment Bank by 4.44 percent, Riyad Bank by 3.59 percent and Banque Saudi Fransi by 3.03 percent.
In the telecom sector, shares of Etihad Etisalat dropped by 6.88 percent to SR64.25 and Saudi Telecom Co. (STC) by 3.71 percent to SR71.25.
Shares of Alahli Takaful Co. shares jumped 9.87 percent to SR128, SABB Takaful by 9.30 percent to SR105.75 and Saudi Fransi Cooperative Insurance Co. by 9.02 percent to SR105.75.
Out of 112 companies traded, shares of 96 companies were in the red while only 11 companies were in positive territory. The stock market turnover was SR9.22 billion yesterday compared to SR63.69 billion last week.
BMG Index Begins on Negative Note
The BMG Saudi Index started this week on a negative note, witnessing another drop by 4.3 percent in yesterday's session to close the day at 484.1 points. The market turnover registered SR3.4 billion ($911 million), down by 33.7 percent from SR5.2 billion ($1.4 billion) in the previous session.
All the BMG Saudi Index's sectors slipped to lower ground. The industrial sector registered the highest loss, moving down by 4.9 percent, while the banking, telecommunications, and the services sectors went down by 4.4 percent, 3.7 percent, and 3 percent, respectively.
The electricity, agricultural, and the insurance sectors followed suit, declining by 1.8 percent, 1.5 percent, and 1.3 percent, respectively. Twenty-four shares of the BMG Saudi Index depreciated, while only 4 shares appreciated.