JEDDAH/AMMAN, 8 July 2006 — The Saudi stock market fell slightly last week. The Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) shed 0.7 percent, closing at 13,053.19 points down 92.07 points from the previous week’s close at 13,145.26 points. The TASI is currently 21.9 percent lower than the year’s start.
The stock market turnover also declined to SR120.90 billion last week compared to SR159 billion in the previous week.
Saudi Livestock was most active by value last week at SR7.35 billion, followed by Al-Ahsa for Development Co. at SR5 billion and Al-Rajhi Bank at SR4.23 billion.
Zamil Industrial was the top gainer last week as its shares jumped 36.15 percent to SR161. Southern Cement was the top loser as its shares dropped 9.47 percent to SR98. Shares of all other cement companies also dropped last week.
In the banking sector, shares of four banks — Riyad Bank, Banque Saudi Fransi, SABB and Samba Financial Group — edged lower while shares of all other banks increased last week. Shares of petrochemical giant Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) fell 2.66 percent last week to SR174.
In the telecom sector, shares of Saudi Telecom Co. (STC) and Etihad Etisalat rose to SR119.50 and SR89.25, respectively.
Arab stock markets witnessed another week of strong volatility, which was attributed by financial analysts yesterday mainly to retreating confidence in stock trading and the hike of regional interest rates to match that of the dollar.
“The sluggish performance of regional markets over the past few months can be blamed on the diminishing confidence investors are attaching to trading in stocks,” an Amman-based portfolio manager told Arab News. “This tendency has apparently drawn momentum partly from successive hikes of regional interest rates that have gone up to levels where bank deposits provide more secure benefits.”
Several Middle East central banks stepped in last week to raise their respective interest rates to match the US Federal Reserve Board’s decision to hike the dollar’s rate by a 0.25 percentage points last week.
However, analysts said that they believed regional markets were in a “consolidation phase” that paves the ground for fresh rebounds, albeit at a lower pace than they experienced over the last couple of years.
Jordanian shares fluctuated violently this week against the backdrop of cloudy instructions released by the Stock Exchange Commission regarding the volume of stock transactions that can be conducted by commercial banks.
The all-share price index of the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) gained 1.72 percent last week, closing on Thursday at 6,159 points up from 6,055 points last week, which represents a year-on-year decline of 19.75 percent.
“Though the last two days of the week witnessed an upward swing, many investors remain apprehensive of the lift and fear it is only temporary,” said the Atlas Investment Group, the Arab Bank’s investment arm.
Kuwait’s KSE all-share price index shed 0.4 percent last week, closing at 9,966 points, down from 10,002 points in the previous week.
Kuwaiti stocks continued to be subdued by the “absence of political certainty” that surrounded the election of a speaker for the newly elected Parliament, analysts said.
“Most investors also take a wait-and-see approach pending the publication of more second quarter results,” they added.
The all-share price index of the United Arab Emirates stock exchange of Dubai gained 0.7 percent last week, closing at 427.2 points, up from 424.6 points in the previous week.
The benchmark price of Abu Dhabi stock exchange lost 1.2 percent, closing at 3,511 points, compared with previous week’s close at 3,557 points.
Egypt’s Hermes all-share price index gained 1.74 percent to close on Thursday at 47,868 points.
