JEDDAH, 6 December 2007 — The Saudi stock market surged yesterday as investors slowly regaining their confidence. The Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) edged higher by 113.05 points or 1.16 percent to close at 9,892.02.
Analyst Ali Al-Dowaihi saw good days for the market with the index growing day by day.
“On Tuesday, we saw shares worth SR3 billion being traded within the first hour as many investors bought shares of leading companies as well as the newly-listed Jabal Omar Development Co.,” he pointed out. As many as 362 million shares worth SR13.4 billion were exchanged on Tuesday, he pointed out.
Jabal Omar shares jumped by 8.98 percent to SR24.25 yesterday, Almarai Co. by 7.46 percent to SR126 and Al-Ahlia Insurance Co. by 5.36 percent to SR127.75.
The stock market turnover was over SR12.48 billion yesterday as out of 106 companies traded, shares of 46 companies increased while 44 companies were in the red.
Saudi Basic Industries Corp. shares increased by 2.22 percent to SR172.25.
BMG Index Turnover Falls
The BMG Saudi Index reversed its performance in its last trading session this week, ending the day and week at a closing level of 546.3 points - a 1.8 percent increase over the week. The total turnover, however, declined by 14.4 percent to SR4.2 billion ($1.1 billion), down from SR4.9 billion ($1.3 million) witnessed in Tuesday’s session. All the sectors in the index went up except for the agricultural sector which went down by 0.8 percent. The best performer in yesterday’s session was the industrial sector advancing by almost 2 percent. With an increase of 1.9 percent, the insurance sector came in second, and was followed by the services sector which witnessed a 0.9 percent upward move. The best performing share, however, was Saudi Arabia Dairy and Food, whose shares climbed 4.7 percent to close at SR49.75. The worst performing share was recorded by Tourism Enterprises Company, which dropped by 4.7 percent, to close at a price of SR56.25 per share.
