25/08/2010
Tadawul index falls to 11-week low
Saudi Arabia's Dar Al-Arkan extended losses on Tuesday, with investors little moved by assurances from the developer that it would not be downgraded by ratings agencies.
The Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) fell 1.5 percent to an 11-week low as most Middle East markets declined, tracking international losses amid few regional catalysts to lift trade. The index closed at 6,018.27.
The sector activity for the day was negatively biased with all 15 sectors closing with losses ranging from 0.49 percent by the Cement sector to 2.27 percent by the Petrochemical Industries sector. Overall market breadth for the day was heavily negative with only 2 advancers against 137 decliners giving it an AD ratio of 0.014, the Financial Transaction House (FTH) said in its daily market commentary.
Dar Al-Arkan fell 2.3 percent, taking its losses to 4.8 percent since Aug. 11, when Moody's placed the property firm on review for potential downgrade, citing weaker operational performance in the first half of 2010.
Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) dropped 2.3 percent and Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Co. lost 1.7 percent as falling oil prices pressured Saudi industrials.
Meanwhile, BMG's Saudi Index that comprises the top 30 active companies depreciated by 1.8 percent in Tuesday's session, to reach 313.86 points, with all of the index's shares experiencing a negative performance. The value of traded shares went up by 41.3 percent to SR978.8 million, whereas the total number of shares traded increased by 40.9 percent to 45.9 million shares.
Kuwait's index rose for a third session in four. The measure surged 0.1 percent to 6,682 points.
Gulf Bank and Burgan Bank added 7.1 and 6.1 percent respectively.
National Bank of Abu Dhabi fell 0.9 percent to be traded at a p-e ratio of about 8.
Dubai's index fell 0.5 percent to 1,493 points as volumes slumped to a 2010 low and Abu Dhabi's benchmark also declined 0.3 percent to 2,503 points, with little to draw UAE investors to trade amid volatility in global equities.
Arabtec fell 1.2 percent to 1.66 dirhams after HSBC cut its price target on the builder to 1.8 dirhams from 2.6 percent, raising its rating from neutral to underweight.
Oman's index also dropped 0.3 percent to 6,293 points as selling pressure on European markets led to a late local slump.
Oman's fall was exacerbated by investors closing positions to free up cash ahead of the initial public offering of telecom operator Nawras, a unit of Qatar Telecom. This is set to launch on Sept. 20, a source told Reuters.
The Qatari index rose 0.03 percent to 7,201 points,while Bahrain index rose 0.4 percent to 1,424 points.
