RIYADH, 20 June 2003 — Saudi shares rose for the seventh week in a row to close the week yesterday up 2.5 percent despite profit-taking sales on several stocks which made huge gains in the past few months, investors said.
The Tadawul All-Shares Index (TASI) finished the week at 3,621.55 points from 3,532.67 points last week.
The index has now increased every week since May 8.
The TASI is 43.8 percent higher than at the start of 2003. It has been rising steadily since the start of the war against Iraq on March 20, increasing 43 percent since then.
The bourse hit a new record high of 3,644.29 points at close on Monday following the Cabinet’s approval of the Capital Market Law which cleared the way to set up a formal stock exchange replacing the existing interbank bourse.
The decision was welcomed by economists as an important step forward for economic liberalization and for luring much-needed foreign investments.
Prices of 29 firms increased, 35 companies dropped, while four issues were unchanged. One company did not trade.
Trading value dropped by 16.9 percent to SR20.2 billion ($5.4 billion) from SR24.3 billion ($6.5 billion) last week. More than 166.7 million shares changed hands.
Saudi Arabia is the largest capitalized stock market in the Arab world with more than $127 billion, but operates only on interbank system.
