RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s main stock index TASI ended the session in positive territory, as gains in the energy and insurance sectors pushed the index higher.
TASI recorded gains at 0.3 percent, reaching 12,109 points, and the parallel Nomu market closed flat at 25,551 points.
Saudi insurer Malath Cooperative Insurance Co. topped the gainers as its shares jumped 7.4 percent.
Next in the insurance sector, Alinma Tokio Marine, Bupa Arabia, and SABB Takaful were all up between 3 and 5 percent.
The biggest player in the Kingdom’s energy market, oil giant Aramco was up 0.8 percent, followed by Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Co. which edged up by 0.5 percent.
Aramco-led program IKTVA has contributed around SR375 billion ($100 billion) to Saudi Arabia’s economy since its inception in 2015, the company's chairman, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, said at IKTVA 2022 Forum and Exhibition.
The Kingdom’s largest bank by market value, Al Rajhi Bank, was up 0.3 percent. Alinma Bank hit an all-time high of SR27.95 as it rose 1 percent.
Arabian Cement Co. led the fallers, down 2.4 percent.
In energy trading, Brent crude oil reached $86.5 per barrel, and US benchmark WTI crude oil was at $83.3 per barrel as of 3:46 p.m. Saudi time.
