The Saudi Arabian market took a positive turn yesterday, turning around two days of lackluster trading, to see the BMG Saudi Index move up 0.7 percent or 2.81 points to close at 407.07, compared to a closing level at 404.26 points on Sunday. In addition, the total turnover of the index was a more healthy SR2.5 billion ($674 million), up 39 percent from Sunday. With the third quarter now well under way, some market participants are beginning to review which stocks might produce good results in the 3Q earnings in October, so we are likely to see some market speculation around stocks that the market thinks might produce good results.
The performance of the sectors followed the positive performance of the index. The agricultural sector gained the largest number of points, 12.66 points, an increase of 1.52 percent, while the industrial sector came in second, advancing by 1.07 percent. Finally, the services sector witnessed a smaller increase of 0.6 percent.
The stocks with largest market capitalization in the index, Al-Rajhi Bank and Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC), moved together yesterday. Al-Rajhi Bank’s shares rose by SR0.25 to close at SR82.25, while SABIC’s stock climbed by 1 percent to close at SR126.75.
