JEDDAH — The Saudi stock index plunged below the 9,000 points mark as banking and industrial stocks suffered badly yesterday. The Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) dropped 215.10 points or 2.35 percent to close at 8,919.03 points. The index is down 20.19 percent so far this year after rising over 40 percent in 2007.
There was an addition of another company to the insurance sector yesterday. The SR10 shares of Al-Sagr Company for Cooperative Insurance, which started trading for the first time on Tadawul yesterday, closed at SR43.25 after rising as high of SR72 and low of SR42.50.
The industrial index declined by 2.87 percent to 22,617.53 as shares of major companies fell yesterday. Shares of Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) dropped by 4.66 percent to SR148, Saudi Cable Company by 8.79 percent to SR62.25 and Saudi Arabia Fertilizer Co. by 6.30 percent to SR171.
In the banking sector, shares of Riyad Bank fell by 6.83 percent to SR75 and Al-Rajhi Bank by 4.73 percent to SR90.50.
Meanwhile, Al-Rajhi Group intends to float the shares of its five industrial companies by the end of this year, said Sulaiman Al-Rajhi, chairman of Al-Rajhi Bank. He did not disclose the capital of the five companies but industrialists said it would reach SR8 billion. He said Wataniya chicken was expected to make a profit of SR300 million by the end of this year. Al-Rajhi also disclosed plans to establish a medical college and a university hospital in Bakeriya, adding that SR500 million have been allocated for the project. He said the group would also employ a large number of women in various business fields following the teachings of Shariah.
The only gainer in the banking sector was Banque Saudi Fransi. Its shares increased by 1.55 percent to SR81.
Shares of Trade Union Cooperative Insurance Co., which started trading on Saturday, declined by 9.89 percent to SR43.25. In the insurance sector, the major losers yesterday were Arabia Insurance Co. and Al-Ahlia Insurance Co., down 9.74 percent and 8.85 percent, respectively.
Shares of the Saudi Telecom Co. (STC) fell 1.05 percent to SR70.50 yesterday. STC finalized a deal on Saturday to buy 35 percent of Oger Telecom Co. for $2.56 billion. The stock market turnover, however, increased to SR10.23 billion yesterday compared to SR9.22 billion on Saturday.
BMG Index Turnover Up 34.7%
The BMG Saudi Index continued its negative performance for the second day this week, and slipped by 2.9 percent, to reach 470.2 points. The market turnover, however, was at SR4.6 billion ($1.2 billion) yesterday, up from SR3.4 billion ($911 million), a 34.7 percent increase, from Saturday’s session. All the BMG Saudi Index’s sectors declined, with the exception of the agricultural sector, which increased, marginally, by 0.02 percent. Twelve shares in the BMG Saudi Index appreciated, while three stood still. The best performer was Yanbu National Petrochemical Company. Its share price went up by 5.4 percent to SR49. Gulf Union Cooperative Insurance Company was the worst performer, as it moved down by 7.9 percent to SR44 per share.
