JEDDAH, 28 May 2005 — Saudi stock market saw major fluctuations last week as the Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) closed at 12,477.61 points on Thursday, up 260.65 points, or 2.13 percent, from Wednesday’s closing. However, the index was higher 0.9 percent on the previous week.
The index hit a record closing high of 12,729 points on Sunday, but fell 4.7 percent to 11,959 points in early trading on Wednesday.
Wednesday’s stock market crash involving 69 companies took place after prices of Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) shares fell by 9.2 percent.
The total value of shares traded rose from SR84.5 billion previous week to SR96.2 billion last week, with SABIC shares accounting for 12 percent of total shares exchanged, followed by Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) eight percent.
Gainers outnumbered decliners by 46 to 29, with one share not traded.
Saudi shares are likely to have a steadier run next week after several days of volatility triggered by speculative trading, analysts said.
“The retreat was expected following the inflated prices of most companies’ stocks during the last couple of weeks,” Bakheet Financial Advisors (BFA) said.
Riyad Bank had a good run, rising 19 percent to close the week to Thursday at SR805.25. BFA said the bank sold some land which would bring it an extraordinary profit of SR2.96 per share.
Shares in newly floated Saudi Dairy and Foodstuff Co. (SADAFCO) were traded for the first time on Monday. The firm’s shares closed up 88 percent at SR488.5.
Arab stock markets are expected to be calm next week ahead of what analysts described yesterday as a new “upsurge” in share prices that was expected to take place on the eve of, and after, the publication of the semi-annual results of listed firms.
“I believe markets will be lackluster next week, but we are going to witness gradual rises in prices in the run-up for the publication of half-year results at the end of June, when a fresh upsurge is expected,” Wajdi Makhamreh, investment manager and head of brokerage at the Jordan Finance & Investment Bank, told Arab News.
In Kuwait, the KSE all-share price index shed 0.6 percent this week, to close at 8,432.1 points down from 8,484.3 points last week. The benchmark price shed about 1 percent on Wednesday, the last trading day of the week.
The UAE’s Dubai stock market index rose 7.3 percent for the week ending on Thursday, led by heavyweight real estate firm Emaar Properties after it clinched a $2.7 billion housing contract.
The Dubai bourse index closed at 848 points, up 7.3 percent for the week and approaching its life high of 876 points reached on May 2.
The bourse in Abu Dhabi closed at 5,758 points, up 0.4 percent for the week but some way off its record of 6,267 points, also set in early May.
An Emaar spokesman said on Tuesday the property firm would build, market and sell 10,000 housing units for United Arab Emirates nationals and that its mortgage affiliate Amlak would provide financing for people who want to buy them.
Emaar shares closed at 26.65 dirhams, up 8.6 percent for the week. Amlak closed at 7.35 dirhams, off a record high of 7.75 dirhams reached on Wednesday but up 9.7 percent for the week.
Bahraini shares edged up 0.4 percent in the week to Thursday as investors waited for second quarter results, brokers said.
The all-share index closed at 2,174.64 points, up from 2,166.76 in the previous week. The index, which hit a record high of 2,229 points earlier this month, is up 22.6 percent this year.
A total of 5.8 million shares worth 6.17 million dinars ($16 million) were traded, compared to 6.4 million shares valued at 4.6 million dinars in the previous week.
Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait was unchanged at 675 fils, while Bahrain Maritime and Mercantile gained two fils to close at 1.264 dinars.
Blue chip Bahrain Telecommunications Company, the most active share with more than half of total turnover, eased to 1.532 dinars from 1.575 last week.
Omani shares could continue their bull run next week after the market climbed to a seven-year high in the week to Thursday, buoyed by regional investors entering the bourse, analysts said.
But they said investors might start selling stocks later in the week in preparation for an initial public offering of state-run Oman Telecommunications Co. (Omantel), believed to be worth up to $760 million and set for the first week of June.
The Muscat Securities Market 30-share index closed at 4,804.36 points on Thursday, up 3.7 percent from a week ago.
The index is up 42 percent in 2005, but still down from an all-time high near 5,100 points hit in 1998.
The Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) index closed week 3.1 percent up at 6,504 points, compared to last week’s close at 6,308 points. — With input from Abdul Jalil Mustafa
