JEDDAH, 11 March 2006 — Volatile trading continued to dominate the Saudi stock market last week in what analysts described as a “deep correction.” The Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) shed a further 3.03 percent last week, closing on Thursday at 17,924.7 points, down from 18,486.24 points previous week. The index gained 637.75 points or 3.69 percent on Thursday from Wednesday’s closing.
The Bakheet Financial Advisors expected investors to focus on blue-chip firms in the coming weeks and get rid of their holdings of speculative stocks.
The stock market turnover, however, increased to SR112 billion last week compared to SR109 billion in the previous week.
The top gainers for the week were Taibah Investment & Real Estate Co. (6.62 percent), followed by Saudi Automotive Services Co. (3.59 percent), Makkah Construction & Development Co. (3.10 percent), Samba Financial Group (3.09 percent) and Jarir Marketing Co. (2.38 percent).
However, shares of major banks such as Al-Rajhi Bank dropped 33.24 percent in a week to SR2,493, Banque Saudi Fransi by 32.89 percent to SR906 and The Saudi Investment Bank by 32.30 percent to SR679. SABB shares declined slightly at SR1,546.
Saudi Electricity Co. (SEC) shares were most active by volume (56,116,805) and value (SR10.38 billion) last week. Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) shares closed 1.34 percent lower at SR1,615 with SR8.79 billion worth of shares changed hands last week.
In the telecom sector, shares of Saudi Telecom Co. (STC) and Etihad Etisalat fell last week to SR1,021 and SR685, respectively.
The agriculture shares were also in the red last week.
Meanwhile, Arab stock markets continued their downward corrections last week, but analysts said on Thursday they believed regional bourses were in a consolidation phase prior to a recovery that could draw momentum from the good first quarter results.
“I believe regional stock markets are gathering momentum prior to a rebound that could coincide with the release of first quarter results,” Wajdi Makhamreh, investment manager and head of brokerage at the Jordan Finance & Investment Bank, told Arab News.
“Share prices in the region have gone down to levels that provide a buy opportunity,” he said, adding that stocks stood to benefit from high oil prices and excellent regional macroeconomic fundamentals.
Kuwaiti stocks suffered their biggest loss in a week over the past few years, and analysts said the plunge was aggravated by a report in the local press that the government would intervene to support prices. The KSE all-share price index slipped 6.6 percent last week, closing at 10,750 points, compared to previous week’s close at 11,467 points.
Amman-based portfolio managers believed the Kuwaiti stock market could witness a strong rebound this week after remarks by Finance Minister Bader Humaidhi that the Kuwait Investment Corporation, the government’s investment arm, planned to step in to buy stocks through investment funds.
The United Arab Emirates stocks also declined further last week, as investors expressed disappointment over dividends declared by a leading firm, analysts said.
The UAE all-share price index of Dubai and Abu Dhabi stock exchanges lost 4.8 percent last week, closing at 5,654 points down from last week’s close at 5,938 points.
The Amman Stock Exchange was the first Arab bourse to witness a strong recovery last week after plummeting for three weeks.
The ASE all-share price index climbed 4.42 percent, closing on Thursday at 7,584 points, compared with previous week’s close at 7,263 points, according to the market’s weekly report. “I believe key investors and big funds have stepped in to buy stocks making benefit from their record decline,” Makhmreh said. “I think the market will continue its robust performance next week,” he added.
— With input from Abdul Jalil Mustafa
