JEDDAH, 12 November 2007 - The Saudi stock index dropped slightly yesterday after rising to nearly one-year high on Saturday. The Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) fell 4.31 points to 9,074.34 after reaching 9,078.65 points on Saturday, its highest close since Nov. 1, 2006.
In the banking sector, the only gainer yesterday was Banque Saudi Fransi as its shares increased 1.29 percent to SR78. The Saudi Investment Bank shares declined by 1.68 percent, SABB by 1.67 percent, Samba Financial Group by 1.06 percent and Saudi Hollandi bank by 0.87 percent.
The telecom shares suffered badly yesterday. Saudi Telecom Co. (STC) shares dropped 1.38 percent to SR71.25 and Etihad Etisalat by 1.02 percent to SR72.25.
In the insurance sector, shares of Saudi Arabian Cooperative Insurance Company jumped by 7.36 percent to SR102, Arabian Shield Cooperative Insurance Company by 5.08 percent to SR62 and Saudi United Cooperative Insurance Company by 4.77 percent to SR71.25.
However, shares of SABB Takaful fell 4.79 percent to SR129 and Allied Cooperative Insurance Group by 2.83 percent to SR103.
Shares of 57 companies were in the red while 32 companies were in positive territory yesterday. Over SR9.26 billion worth of shares changed hands yesterday.
BMG Index Exceeds 500 Points
The BMG Saudi Index continued to go up on its second trading day having added 3.8 points to close at 501.4 points, increasing by 0.8 percent. The market turnover, however, declined by 5.6 percent to reach SR4.1 billion ($1.1 billion).
The sectors closed in yesterday’s session on a mixed note. The Insurance sector outperformed all others by increasing 1.1 percent, followed by the Industrial sector which moved ahead by 0.9 percent. Contrary to the previous two sectors, the Agricultural sector lost 1.2 points, going down by 0.2 percent, while the Services sector lost one fifth of a point, decreasing by a marginal 0.02 percent.
The upward move in the index is referred mainly to the Industrial sector which was pushed ahead by the largest market cap stock in the Index, SABIC (Saudi Basic Industries Corp.), which advanced by 1 percent to close at SR159.50 per share.
