Heavyweight Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) gained 0.3 percent to SR88.50. The much smaller Allujain went almost limit-up after announcing the start of commercial production at its subsidiary polypropylene complex, NATPET.

The sector activity for the day was mostly positive with 13 gaining sectors out of 15 sectors. The gaining sectors ranged from 0.11 percent by the Retail sector to 2.14 percent by the Telecommunication & Information Technology sector. On the other hand, the two losing sectors were Insurance sector with 0.10 percent and Hotel & Tourism sector with 0.51 percent. The overall market breadth for the day was also positive with 101 advancers against 25 decliners giving it an AD ratio of 4.04, the Financial Transaction House (FTH) said in its daily market commentary.

The value of traded shares reached SR2.32 billion on Saturday.

Telecom stocks climbed after reports that the government was close to a deal with BlackBerry, regaining most of the losses that followed Saudi Arabia's announcement of a ban on BlackBerry messenger services.

Mobily shares surged by 3.3 percent to SR54.50. Saudi Telecom Co. (STC) shares closed 0.81 percent higher at SR37.30, snapping a five-session losing streak.

Meanwhile, the Capital Market Authority (CMA) announced on Saturday that the listing and trading of Knowledge Economic City (KEC) will begin on Monday within Real Estate Development sector, with an unrestricted price limit for the first day of trading only.
 
- With input from agencies