06/04/2011
Tadawul declines for third day
The Saudi bourse fell for a third day on Tuesday, with the first of the earnings results disappointing investors, and Air Arabia dropped to an all-time low in Dubai on a dividend price adjustment.
Almarai Co., the Gulf's biggest dairy firm by market value, shed 1.1 percent after it posted a first-quarter net profit gain of just 0.5 percent, Reuters said.
"Almarai's numbers disappointed due to pressures from rising raw material prices," said Amro Halwani, a senior trader at Shuaa Capital in Riyadh.
Saudi Electricity Co. fell 5.3 percent after it went ex-dividend.
"Investors are far more selective than they have been in recent weeks resulting in mixed performance within sectors with no major trend to talk of," said Halwani.
The Saudi Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) slipped 0.87 percent to 6,548.42 points. The sector activity for the day was mostly negative except two gaining sectors. The losing sector ranged from 0.47 percent by the Cement sector to 4.93 percent by the Energy & Utilities sector.
On the other hand, the Retail sector and the Media and Publishing sector gained 0.07 percent and 0.41 percent respectively. The overall market breadth for the day was negative with 29 advancers against 109 decliners giving it an AD ratio of 0.26, the Financial Transaction House (FTH) — licensed by the Capital Market Authority — said in its daily market commentary.
The Saudi stock market turnover reached SR5.52 billion on Tuesday.
