The BMG Saudi Index changed tack over the past trading week, witnessing a downward trend losing 14.6 points to close at 511.2 points, declining by 2.8 percent. The total weekly turnover went down to SR17.6 billion ($4.7 billion) from SR20.6 billion ($5.5 billion) the previous week, down 14.8 percent. The average P/E ratio for 2006 earnings was 29 times, whereas the price to book ratio is 4.8 times.
The index’s sectors closed on a mixed note. The insurance and services sectors recorded gains increasing by 2.9 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively. The insurance sector closed with a total number of points of 1,021.5 points, while the services sector closed at 924.9 points. On the other hand, the industrial and agricultural sectors lost points and each closed at 1,159.7 and 832.9 points, respectively, with the industrial sector falling by 3.4 percent and the agricultural sector slipping by a marginal 0.6 percent. In terms of the value of investments for each sector, the industrial sector’s shares registered SR7.2 billion ($2.0 billion), or 41.2 percent of the index’s turnover. The value of trades in the shares of the services sector reached SR5.2 billion ($1.4 billion), or 29.6 percent of the total index turnover. The agricultural sector’s portion was 19.1 percent of total investments in the index, or SR3.4 billion ($0.9 billion), while the insurance sector’s was the least contributor in terms of total turnover, with SR1.8 billion ($0.5 billion), equivalent to 10.1 percent of total index’s turnover.
Only 8 of the index’s shares landed in positive territory. The best performer was Malath Insurance, which climbed by 6.1 percent to SR139 per share. The share recording the highest weekly turnover, and highest number of shares traded over the past week was Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Company, with SR2.1 billion traded over 111 million shares, ending the week with a share price of SR19.25 per share. The worst performer was MedGulf.
