Retail sector surges 1.37%, Saudi

The Saudi stock market recorded nominal gains yesterday, as the Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) closed higher to 7,147.42, adding 8.11 points or 0.11 percent for the entire day. After falling over 53.9 points during the session it bottomed out at 7,090.12 points level and started to rise again and finally crossed the break-even line. The market cap indices ended the day in mixed territories. Sector indices performed in a mixed fashion, with eight sectors accumulating an aggregate of 227 points and seven sectors trimming 145.7 points jointly. Retail showed the best performance among sectoral indices, rising 118.6 points or 1.37 percent to close the day at 8,773.43. Real Estate Development was other significant advancer which gained 1.01 percent for the day. Media and Publishing sector, on the other hand, posted the largest losses, falling 2.2 percent to 2,923.21. Insurance sector also continued its downward fall, declining further by 1.72 percent and closing at 1,147.69. Again heavyweights’ performance remained almost balanced with small positive/negative changes. The market breadth remained unfavorable, with 48 stocks witnessing advances and 86 others marking a decline. Saudi Indian Company for Co-operative Insurance (WAFA Insurance) dominated the top gainers chart at Tadawul, surging by 6.78 percent to finish at SR 126. Market activity was high, specifically SR 6.0 billion were poured into the market. Trading volume was impressive, with about 225 million shares changed hands in the market, a significant 24.3 percent growth over the previous level. The 50-day average for trading volume is closer to 201.4 million shares. Jabal Omar Development Company and Bank Albilad were significant gainers among most active stocks, moving upward by 2.3 percent and 1.3 percent respectively. Albilad with trades over 21.9 million shares worth SR 525.5 million topped the volume and value charts, capturing 9.7 percent of the overall market volume. Source: ArabNews