JEDDAH, 21 January 2006 — The Saudi stock market was slightly down last week. The Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) closed on Thursday at 17,653.72 points compared to an all-time high of 17,675.91 on Jan. 8, just before the Eid Al-Adha holidays.
The index is currently 5.63 percent higher than the year’s start.
“The market had a tiny retreat last week due to the decline in both the banking and industrial sectors, as investors awaited the financial results of blue chips in the two sectors,” the Riyadh-based Bakheet Financial Advisors (BFA) said in its weekly market report. “All eyes are focusing on the upcoming corporate financial results for blue chips and petrochemical companies, in addition to oil prices.”
Jouf Agriculture was the top gainer last week with 33.42 percent increase at SR525, followed by Arabian Pipes Co. 29.70 percent at SR975, Eastern Agriculture 27.75 percent at SR707.75, Al-Ahsa for Development Co. 17.17 percent at SR505 and Qassim Agriculture 17.11 percent at SR451.75.
Among the top losers were Qassim Cement by 3.83 percent to SR1,230, followed by the National Company for Cooperative Insurance by 3.77 percent to SR753.50 and Saudi Arabia Refineries Co. by 3.43 percent to SR4,431.25.
Saudi Basic Industries Corp. shares fell slightly in a week to close on Thursday at SR1,670.
In the banking sector, shares of Al-Rajhi Banking & Investment Corp. touched the SR3,000 mark.
The value of Saudi shares traded reached SR97 billion in a holiday-shortened week.
The United Arab Emirates stocks also fluctuated violently last week, with most shares shedding their gains they achieved since the beginning of the year in what analysts described as a profit-taking move.
However, the all-share price indexes of Dubai and Abu Dhabi bourses rebounded on Thursday, gaining 1 percent. The UAE unified benchmark price closed week at 6,941 points.
Middle East stocks were volatile last week as investors awaited the publication of more 2005 results and dividend distributions.
However, prominent analysts believed regional shares were heading to new highs in the coming few weeks, given the performance of blue-chip firms, the adamantly surging oil prices and the strong growth rates achieved by key Arab economies.
The ASE all-share price index shed 5.22 percent last week, closing at 8,545 points down from 9,016 points last week, according to the market’s weekly report.
Triggering the decline was a scramble to sell stocks in, among others, the heavyweight Arab Bank to cover subscriptions to the new issue of bank shares resulting from the doubling of its capital to about $500 million, dealers said.
However, the ASE benchmark price recovered some of its losses in the last two days of the week after a decline of more than 7 percent. Egypt’s Hermes price index climbed to an all-time high of 63,468 points on Thursday, propelled by the dramatic gains achieved by the Hermes Financial Group, the Egyptian-Kuwaiti Holding Co., Orascum Telecom and other leading businesses.
