JEDDAH: Following global stocks, which slumped to three-month lows on Friday on concerns about the outlook for corporate profits and inflation, the Saudi stock market also made a nose-dive yesterday. The Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) plunged 267.94 points or 2.8 percent to 9,313.4. The index fell 2.02 percent last week. The index is still down 15.63 percent so far this year. Oil prices also rose to a record high of $142.99 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Friday. Brent crude was $141.01 a barrel on Friday.
Out of 120 stocks traded, 108 companies were in negative territory while 8 companies showed positive performances. Over SR8.69 billion worth of shares changed hands yesterday.
Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) and Al-Rajhi Bank shares declined by 3.21 percent to SR143 and 2.56 percent to SR85.50, respectively. Alinma Bank shares also dropped 5.33 percent to SR17.75 yesterday.
Shares in Saudi Arabia Fertilizers Co. (SAFCO) gained 0.69 percent to SR254.25 and Advanced Polypropylen Co. by 0.43 percent to SR57.50.
In the Telecommunication & Information Technology sector, shares in Saudi Telecom Co. (STC), Etihad Etisalat and Mobile Telecommunications Company Saudi Arabia fell 2.82 percent, 2.31 percent and 3.92 percent, respectively. “There is no one factor that accounts for the jittery behavior of the stock market. The upcoming IPO (initial public offering) of Maaden (Saudi Arabian Mining Co.) could, in part, explain some of the liquidation in the market. Also, the summer season has taken off and that is always a seasonal factor behind some of the liquidation, John Sfakianakis, chief economist at SABB (the Saudi British Bank), said, adding, “we can’t ignore that there is some uncertainty about the growth potential of the world economy in light of rising inflation and lower than expected growth dynamics.”
According to the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency’s (SAMA’s) first quarter report, the Saudi share price index declined by 18.3 percent to 9,134.99 during the first quarter of 2008 compared to a rise of 42.7 percent in the preceding quarter, recording an annual rise of 19.2 percent.
During the first quarter of 2008, the number of traded shares rose by 24.1 percent to SR17.5 billion compared to an increase of 28.1 percent in the preceding quarter. The annual growth rate of traded shares declined by 19.1 percent. Total value of traded shares went up by 27.4 percent to SR705.3 billion compared to a rise of 7.3 percent in the preceding quarter, with its annual growth rate declining by 44.1 percent.
At the end of the first quarter, the market capitalization of issued shares went down by 13.9 percent to SR1.68 trillion against a rise of 46.3 percent at the end of the preceding quarter, recording an annual growth rate of 40.3 percent.
Total number of transactions executed in the first quarter recorded a rise of 28.5 percent to 15.8 million compared to a decline of 15.2 percent in the preceding quarter. The annual growth rate of the total number of executed transactions went down by 26.5 percent in the first quarter of 2008 compared to the same quarter of the preceding year.
BMG turnover up
The BMG Saudi Index dropped by 3.1 percent to 516 points yesterday. The market turnover, however, increased by 13.9 percent to SR4.2 billion ($1.1 billion) versus SR3.4 billion ($900 million) registered on Wednesday.
All sectors closed in negative territory yesterday, of which the worst was the insurance sector which declined by 7.8 percent. The agricultural sector came in second and depreciated by 5.8 percent.
The telecommunications and electricity sectors followed and saw their number of points decreasing by 3.9 percent each. The services, industrial, and banking sectors fell by 3.6 percent, 3.0 percent, and 2.6 percent, respectively.
Only two shares ended the session on a positive note with two remaining unchanged.
