RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s stock market started the week lower, tracking a drop in oil prices after China imposed new COVID-19 lockdown measures.
The main TASI index lost 1.65 percent to 12,395, and the parallel market Nomu slipped 1.6 percent to 21,877 as of 10:41 a.m. Saudi time.
This was driven by losses in some of TASI’s biggest weights, with oil giant Aramco declining 1.7 percent and the biggest player in the banking sector, Al Rajhi Bank, down 1.6 percent.
Further in the financial sector, Alinma Bank lost 2.8 percent amid trading of over 2 million shares.
Shares in telecom giant stc added 6.4 percent after its board proposed a SR30 billion ($8 billion) capital hike through granting bonus shares.
Petro Rabigh added 7.2 percent to lead the gainers in early trading, while Saudi Industrial Export Co. recorded the biggest drop of 8.2 percent.
Arabian Food & Dairy Factories Co., known as Fadeco, surged 30 percent to top the gainers on Nomu as it made its stock market debut.
In energy trading, Brent crude settled at $122.01 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate reached $120.67 a barrel on Friday.
