RIYADH: Saudi stocks fell on Sunday as weak earnings data weighed on investor sentiment and losses hit some of the Kingdom’s major stocks.
TASI dropped 1.2 percent, snapping its ten-day winning streak, to close at 12,140 points, and the parallel Nomu market slipped 1.4 percent to 25,707 points.
The Kingdom’s dairy giant, Almarai Co., lost 2.4 percent after leading the losses earlier this morning.
The diary giant earlier posted a 21 percent decline in profit in 2021 as pandemic and value-added tax adversely impacted revenues.
Shares in Saudia Dairy and Foodstuff Co., or SADAFCO, also fell 1.3 percent in response to weak earnings data. Profits dropped by 29 percent during the nine months ending Dec. 31, 2021.
The $1.95 trillion oil giant Saudi Aramco edged down almost 1 percent, and fertilizer firm, SABIC Agri-Nutrients, closed 3 percent lower.
Stocks in the financial sector further weighed on TASI, including Al Rajhi Bank, the Saudi National Bank, SNB, and Alinma Bank, all down between 0.7 and 0.8 percent.
Etihad Atheeb Telecommunications Co. led the gainers, up 6.6 percent, while Saudi Research and Media Group was the highest faller, down over 3.7 percent.
Saudi information technology firm Al Moammar Information Systems Co., MIS, saw a 0.8 percent decline in its share price.
MIS has inked SR84.5 million ($23 million) worth of contracts with its subsidiary Edarat Communications and Information Technology Co. for cloud hosting and data center services.
In energy trading, In energy trading, oil prices brought to an abrupt end the seven-year high on Friday as higher inventories of US crude and fuel prompted profit-taking.
Brent crude oil reached $87.9 per barrel, and US benchmark WTI crude oil settled at $85 per barrel.
