Arab News, Thursday, Jan 19, 2023 | Jamadi Al Thani 26, 1444
Closing Bell: Saudi bourse sheds 0.18% to end at 10,664
Saudi Arabia:
Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index on Wednesday fell 18.86 points — or 0.18
percent — to close at 10,664.04.
While MSCI Tadawul 30 Index fell 5.61 points to
close at 1,479.76, the parallel market Nomu slipped 1.11 percent to close at
19,053.46.
TASI’s total trading turnover of the benchmark
index on Wednesday was SR3.92 billion ($1.04 billion), with 137 stocks of the
listed 223 declining and 65 advancing.
Etihad Atheeb Telecommunication Co. was the
topmost gainer of the day, which rose 8.41 percent to SR72.20. The other gainers
were Dur Hospitality Co., Methanol Chemicals Co., CHUBB Arabia Cooperative
Insurance Co. and Al-Rajhi Company for Cooperative Insurance.
The worst performer of Wednesday was Alinma Bank,
which slid 4.05 percent to SR32. The other losers were Qassim Cement Co, Saudi
Tadawul Group Holding Co, Saudi National Bank and Arab National Bank.
Among sectoral indices, the Banks Index declined
by 1.13 percent to 11,430.02 points. Out of eight constituent stocks, five
dropped. On the other hand, Amlak International Finance Co, Riyad Bank and
Bank Aljazira booked marginal gains to close at SR14.98, SR31.75 and SR18.84,
respectively.
The Food & Beverages Index was the top grosser as
it rose 2.01 percent and ended at 4,890.18. Five out of the eight constituent
stocks gained, while the rest lost. Almarai Co. was the top performer as it
surged 3.15 percent to SR55.7. Al-Jouf Agricultural Development Co. increased
1.5 percent to SR48.65. Savola Group climbed 0.88 percent to SR28.6.
The Energy Index, meanwhile, edged up 0.24 percent
to 5,444.15, led by Arabian Drilling Co., which advanced 3.91 percent to
SR133. Aldrees Petroleum and Transport Services Co. also progressed 2.44 percent
to SR79.80.
On the announcements front, Saudi Telecom Co.
informed Tadawul that it sold a vacant land plot in Al Murjan, Al Khobar, for
SR1.378 billion, excluding real estate transaction tax and brokerage fees.
The telecom operator said the land spanning 4.1
million square meters was sold at SR336 per sqm through a public auction to
Hasan Abdulrahman Alqahtani.
Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co. also revealed to
Tadawul its plan to shut down some of its production units, starting from March
1 to April 14, 2023, for scheduled periodic maintenance.
The petrochemical firm will close its ethylene
glycol/oxide unit for 28 days, the polycarbonate unit for 40 days and the
phenolic unit for 20 days. In addition, the amines and ethoxylate units will
each come to a halt for 28 days.
The financial impact of this shutdown is assessed
at SR147 million, according to the current average selling prices, which will be
realized during the first half of 2023.
Meanwhile, Mulkia Gulf Real Estate REIT will pay a
cash dividend of 1.3 percent, or SR0.13 a unit, to unitholders for the period
from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2022, fund manager Mulkia Investment Co. said in a
filing to the Saudi Exchange.