RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index continued its downward trend for the third consecutive day, as it shed 53.60 points or 0.49 percent to close at 10,952.34 on Tuesday.
The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR4.89 billion ($1.30 billion) as 74 stocks advanced, while 143 declined.
Saudi Arabia’s parallel market Nomu slipped on Tuesday, declining by 247.82 points to 22,544.21, while the MSCI Tadawul Index also fell by 0.44 percent to close at 1,407.13.
Alinma Tokio Marine Co. was the best-performing stock of the day on the main index. The company’s share price soared by 9.99 percent to SR15.20.
Other top firms include Middle East Healthcare Co. and Al Sagr Cooperative Insurance Co., whose share prices edged up by 4.92 percent and 3.69 percent, respectively.
Electrical Industries Co. was the poorest performer of the day, with its share price declining by 8.02 percent to SR1.95.
On the announcements front, Saudi Top for Trading Co., listed on the Kingdom’s parallel market, announced that it has signed a Shariah-compliant credit facility agreement with Riyad Bank worth SR30 million.
The newly-listed company said that SR20 million would be allocated to repay suppliers’ dues, while the remaining SR10 million will be used to issue letters of guarantee.
Meanwhile, Saudi multinational dairy firm Almarai said that its board has approved an investment plan of SR405 million to increase its fresh bakery capacity, expand its products, and enter the frozen bakery segment in the Kingdom.
According to a Tadawul statement, the new investment plan will be financed by Almarai’s internal cash flow, with an expected completion period of two years.