RIYADH: The Saudi stock exchange was up for the second consecutive day, despite omicron fears and a slight fall in oil prices.
The main index TASI recorded gains amounting to 0.9 percent to close at 11,665 points, its highest value since November. The parallel market Nomu remained flat at 25,846 points.
Gains were boosted by the Kingdom’s Al Rajhi Bank, which added 1.5 percent, reaching a one-month high of SR146 ($38.9).
This was supported by a 1.1 percent increase in Saudi Investment Bank, SAIB, and a 0.2 percent increase in Alinma Bank, with more than 10 million shares traded in the latter.
SAIB’s positive performance came as the Saudi stock market regulator, CMA, approved its request to increase capital to SR10 billion through offering bonus shares.
One of the Kingdom’s largest firms by market value, fertilizer producer SABIC Agri-Nutrients, witnessed a 3 percent surge in its share price, up to SR175.
This came as Al Rajhi Capital estimated profit growth for SABIC Agri-Nutrients at 802 percent for the fourth quarter of 2021.
In energy trading, Brent crude settled at $81.3 per barrel, while US WTI crude oil edged down to $78.3 per barrel as of 3:34 p.m. Saudi time.
