JEDDAH: The Saudi stock market continued its upward march yesterday after rising by 32.87 points on Tuesday. The Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) closed 82.48 points higher at 9,467.68 points.
Over SR6.39 billion worth of shares changed hands yesterday.
The top gainer yesterday was Saudi Indian Company for Cooperative Insurance. Its shares jumped 9.86 percent to close at SR80.75.
SABB Takaful shares also surged by 9.85 percent to SR78 and Malath Cooperative Insurance and Reinsurance Co. by 9.75 percent to SR90.
Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) shares closed 1.23 percent higher at SR143.
SABB shares increased by 1.94 percent to SR91.75 and Al-Rajhi Bank by 0.57 percent to SR86.75.
Meanwhile, the Capital Market Authority (CMA), stock market regulator, imposed a penalty of SR100,000 on Aldrees Petroleum and Transport Services Company for leaking confidential information.
The CMA said on its website yesterday that the news about the company’s intention to increase its capital by granting one share to every four shares and distributing dividends on the basis of one-and-half riyal for each share was leaked on Jan. 4, 2008, before providing and disclosing such information to the CMA. The same news was later announced by that company on Jan. 21.
Despite the CMA announcement, Aldress shares edged higher by 1.84 percent to close at 41.50 yesterday. The CMA also approved on Monday Saudi Industrial Services Co.’s (SISCO’s) request to increase its capital through a rights issue offering with a total value of SR322 million.
The price and number of offered shares will be determined by the company during the extraordinary general assembly.
Alkhaleej Training and Education Company also received approval from the CMA to increase its capital from SR80,000,000 to SR100,000,000 through issuing one bonus share for every 4 shares owned by the shareholders.
In another development, the CMA allowed Jadwa Investment Company to offer “Jadwa Commodities and Natural Resources Securities Fund” and Altawfeek Financial Group to offer “Aldurrah Liquidity Fund (Saudi riyal)” and “Aldurrah Liquidity Fund (US dollar).”
BMG index surges
The BMG Saudi Index ended yesterday slightly higher to close at 523.64 points. The market turnover, however, went down by 9.3 percent to SR2.9 billion ($782 million).
The telecommunications sector was stagnant yesterday, while all the other sectors advanced. The best performer was the Insurance sector which accelerated by 5.3 percent.
The agricultural sector came in second advancing by 3.5 percent, and was followed by the electricity sector, which went up by 2.0 percent. The industrial, services, and banking sectors saw their number of points increase by 1.0 percent, 0.8 percent, and 0.6 percent, respectively.
Twenty-one shares ended the session on a positive note, whereas five fell.
