* Ahmed Al-Rasheed from Riyadh
The auction ended after the Saudi stock closed yesterday with about 74 percent of the market losses to close at 8342 points, losing only eight points.
This comes through the mechanism of calculating the closing price, which began about a month ago.
At 3 pm, the index closed at 8320 points and then began the auction period during which 683 transactions worth 26 million riyals took place.
The most prominent stocks during the period were "Arab National" and "Samba" that were at more than 1 per cent to contribute and with a number of shares affecting the rise of the index by about 22 points.
The falls came after two sessions of gains during which the market achieved good gains. Some speculators preferred to take profit, which increased the selling pressure on the index and stopped the series of rises.
As long as the market maintains 8180 points-21 day averages-, it will remain bullish in the short term. Though, the market is more likely to be negative due to the high level of profitability and challenges for companies. However, second-quarter profit growth may be a key factor that will allow the wave to extend further.
Overall market performance
The general index opened at 8,350 points, trading between highs and lows. The highest point was at 8360 points 0.11%, while the lowest point was at 8317 points, lost 0.4%
At the end of the session, the general index closed at 8,342 points, losing eight points by 0.1 percent.
Liquidity rose 25 percent by about 66.2 million riyals to reach 3.2 billion riyals, 33,000 riyals per transaction.
While traded shares increased 26 per cent by about 30 million traded shares to reach 145 million traded shares, with a turnover rate of 0.28 per cent.
Deals rose 28 per cent by about 21,000 to reach 98,000 transactions.
Sector performance
Nine sectors rose against the rest. "Media" rose 2.8%, "Insurance" 0.6%, and "Pharmaceuticals" 0.3%
The decline was led by "management and development of real estate" of 1.8%, followed by "utilities" of 1.2%, and "long-term goods" of 0.65%.
The highest turnovers were "Banks" by 28% with a value of SR 907 million, followed by "Basic Materials" by 25% with a value of SR 799 million, and "Real Estate Management and Development" by 15%.
Stock performance
At the top of the index, the most active shares were "Enaya" that closed at SAR 20.52, "Amana Insurance" that closed at SAR 19.26, and "SALAMA" of 7% closing at SAR 22.30.
On the other hand, the decline was led "Dar Al-Arkan" by 5.5 per cent to close at 10.68 riyals, followed by "Al-Akaria" by 4.4 per cent to close at 31.50 riyals, and "Saudi German Hospital" by 3.5 per cent to close at 57.60 riyals.
The highest turnovers were "Alinma" by 15 per cent with a value of SR 496 million, followed by "Dar Al-Arkan" by 13 per cent with a value of SR 422 million, and then "SABIC" by 11% with a value of SAR 359 million.
* Economic Reports Unit
