Arab News, Wed, Mar 20, 2024 | Ramadan 10, 1445
Closing Bell: TASI up for 3rd consecutive day to close at 12,804
Saudi Arabia:
Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index edged up for the third consecutive day,
as it gained 31.54 points to close at 12,804.
The total trading turnover of the benchmark index
on Tuesday was SR9.87 billion ($2.63 billion), with 95 of the listed stocks
advancing and 128 declining.
The parallel market Nomu shed 59.11 points to
close at 27,145.56.
The MSCI Tadawul Index was steady, as it gained a
marginal 2.71 points to end the trading at 1,609.67.
The best-performing stock on the main market was
Chubb Arabia Cooperative Insurance Co., whose share price increased by 8.72
percent to SR34.90.
Another top performer was Leejam Sports Co., which
announced its financial results on Tuesday. The company reported a net profit of
SR356 million in 2023, representing a rise of 39.6 percent compared to the
preceding year.
Driven by its rising net profit, the share price
of Leejam Sports Co. surged by 8.10 percent to SR243.
In a Tadawul statement, the company attributed the
jump to an increase in the number of members and operating centers.
Leejam Sports Co. said that its net profit for the
fourth quarter also witnessed a 22.85 percent rise to SR154 million compared to
the same period of the previous year.
The worst performer was Alkhorayef Water and Power
Technologies Co., who share price dipped by 9.27 percent to SR236.80.
National Shipping Co. of Saudi Arabia also
announced its financial results on Tuesday. The company, also known as Bahri,
reported a net profit of $1.61 billion in 2023, up 55 percent compared to the
previous year.
It said that this surge in net profit was driven
by the growth in the chemicals transportation segment’s revenue.
In a separate statement, Bahri said that its board
of directors has recommended a cash dividend at 5.5 percent, or SR0.55 per
share, for 2023.
In another major development, the Saudi exchange
announced the approval of Merrill Lynch KSA’s application for conducting
market-making activities on Saudi Arabian Oil Co., beginning from March 19.
The market-making obligations include an 80
percent minimum presence of orders, a minimum size of SR500,000, along with a
maximum spread of 0.30 percent.