RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s stock exchange started the session down on Thursday, as geopolitical tensions continued to weigh on investor sentiment.
TASI snapped three straight days of gains as it slipped 0.14 percent to 13,236 points, and the parallel market, Nomu, shed 0.13 percent to 24,111 as of 10:17 a.m. Riyadh time.
Leading utility provider ACWA Power Co. saw its shares dip 6.89 percent, despite being one of the primary index’s best-performing stocks so far this year.
Recently listed mining firm Almasane Alkobra Mining Co. extended gains by 1.89 percent to SR108 ($29), soaring almost 70 percent from its initial public offering price.
Nahdi Medical Co., a major pharma chain operator that also joined the Saudi exchange earlier this year, edged 0.4 percent lower.
Shares in oil giant Saudi Aramco were down 0.5 percent.
In the financial sector, the Kingdom’s largest valued bank, Al Rajhi Bank, inched up by 0.3 percent, while Alinma Bank fell 0.24 percent.
National Agricultural Development Co. led the gainers in early trading, up 4 percent to SR36.2.
Expectations of a new round of sanctions on Russia propelled supply chain concerns and, in turn, sent oil prices higher.
Brent crude oil reached $102.52 per barrel on Thursday while US benchmark WTI hit $97.64 at 9:56 a.m. Saudi time.
