Saudi stocks hovered in small gains and losses Wednesday, almost a repeat of previous day’s flat performance which turned positive and the day ended in green.

The Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) wavering along the break-even line edged up 0.09 percent to 8,150.27 points.

Med cap with 0.64 percent upward jump remained prominent among market cap indices. Only five out of Tadawul’s 15 sectors witnessed a negative change, dropping 158.6 points for the day. Remaining twofold sectors closed in the green territory, accumulating an aggregate of 880 points.

Retail came out as the key performing sector, rising by 333 points or 2.89 percent to close at 11,862.69. Hotel & Tourism sector followed it, advancing by 2.38 percent to 15,688.23.

Heavy weights closed in mixed fashion, where bellwether SABIC (Saudi Basic Industries Corp.) rose nearly half percent and Riyad Bank fell more than one percent. SABIC with a liquidity of SR318.8 million also topped the value chart, closing at SR104.

Market breadth was positive, with 76 stocks witnessing advances and 48 others marking a decline.

Jarir marketing company showing notable gains 6.35 percent became the top performer among all Saudi companies. Yesterday, the board of directors of Jarir announced the recommendation of a cash dividend of SR 2.5 per share to its shareholders for the 3rd quarter of current year. Perhaps, the investors were inclined to participate in the company after this announcement.

Weqaya Takaful insurance, on the contrary, changed its position from the top gainer of previous day to the biggest loser of the day, down SR1 or 3.12 percent.

Share trading activity remained low yesterday, as Tadawul volume set sold approximately 198 million shares, a decrease of 16.9 percent as compared to previous level and 11.2 percent below the 50-day average of 223.7 million shares.

Equity turnover reached to SR5.0 billion, a decrease of 9.3 percent from the 50-day average level.