Saudi stocks rose, but at a weak pace, to increase the value of the index on the previous meeting with only seven points, and closed the market at 7,419 points. The session witnessed a decline in volatility and a decline in the market's movement, with liquidity falling by 17% to less than 3 billion riyals.
The weak performance came in light of the changing direction of the shares; where 95 shares headed higher while 73 shares declined and 12 shares settled.
The market is still waiting for new data to interact with, so far most companies have not announced their financial results, which is a key engine for the investors in the market.
Technically, a return above 7500 points will have a positive effect on risk, which will push the speculators' portfolios back to the market with an improvement over the 21-day average, while the support levels at 7300.
Overall market performance
The general index opened at 7412 points, trading between high and low. The highest point was at 7435 with 0.3% gain, while the lowest point was at 7404 points with 0.11% loss. At the end of the session, the general index closed at 7419 points, a seven-point gain of 0.10%. Liquidity declined 17 percent of 56.5 million riyals to reach 2.6 billion riyals, or 32,000 riyals per transaction. Traded shares declined 23 percent, with 34 million traded shares that reached to 116 million traded shares, with a turnover rate of 0.22 percent. Transactions fell 13 percent to reach 81,000.
Sectors' Performance
Seven sectors declined, while the rest was in rise, and "medicines" was in stability. The decline was led by "Telecommunications" by 0.75 percent, followed by "Transportation" by 0.54 percent, and "Food Retail" by 0.44 percent. The rise was led by "Media" that rose by 2.2%, followed by "Retail of Luxury Goods" by 1%, and "Commercial and Professional Services" by 0.67%. The highest turnover was "Basic Materials" by 29 percent at a value of 773 million riyals, followed by "banks" by 22 percent at a value of SR 591 million, and "Insurance" by 15 percent at a value of SR 402 million.
Stocks Performance
The decline in stocks was led by "Etihad Etisalat" that was down 6.8 percent to close at SR 14.88, followed by "Malath Insurance" by 4.5 percent to close at SR 17.49, and then "Enaya" that was down by 3.3% to close at SAR 17.34. On the other hand, the rise was led by " SIECO" for the maximum to close at 167.40 riyals, followed by "Extra" by 6.3% to close at 53.17 riyals, and then " Northern Region Cement" by 4.3% to close at 10.66 riyals.
The highest turnover was "Alinma" with a value of 380 million riyals at 14 per cent, followed by "SABIC" with a value of 370 million riyals at 14 percent, and "Etihad Etisalat" third by 6 percent.
* Economic Reports Unit
