RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s main stock index closed higher on Thursday, holding onto strong gains from the past nine sessions, as investor sentiment rose with the start of the earnings season.
TASI gained 0.3 percent to reach 12,291 points, reversing losses from earlier today, while the parallel market Nomu slipped 0.3 percent to close at 26,071 points.
Saudi oil giant Aramco recouped morning losses to end 0.4 percent higher. The Kingdom’s largest lender, the Saudi National Bank, edged down by 0.13 percent.
The Gulf’s leading miner Saudi Arabian Mining Co., or Ma’aden, closed at its highest value since listing of SR93.7 ($25).
Al Moammar Information Systems Co., MIS, saw a 0.3 percent increase in its share price.
Earlier, MIS announced the launch of a system to provide cloud management solutions in Saudi Arabia, following a deal with BMC Software.
Nama Chemicals Co. topped the gainers, surging 5.9 percent to SR41.5.
Shares in Yanbu National Petrochemical Co., known as Yansab, led the losses, down 2.6 percent despite posting a 126-percent jump in net profit in 2021.
In energy trading, Brent crude reached $88 per barrel, and US WTI crude oil neared $87 per barrel as of 3:34 p.m. Saudi time.
