Saudi Arabia, Sweden to strengthen trade relations with a joint economic action plan
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index on Thursday closed flat – or down 0.07 points – at 10,531.83, as global economic headwinds dampened investors’ appetite for further risk-taking.
“The Tadawul index did not witness a significant change, with caution continuing, and it seems that risk aversion prevails at the moment,” Raed Mohamed Diab, vice president of investment strategy and research at Kuwait-based Kamco Invest, told Arab News.
TASI’s total trading volume fell 18 percent to SR3.69 billion ($980 million) from Wednesday’s SR4.51 billion, even as the market breadth witnessed 152 of the listed 223 gains and 48 in the red.
On the sectoral front, 14 of the 21 advanced while seven lost.
The parallel market Nomu and MSCI Tadawul 30 Index also fell flat to close at 19,304.73 and 1,465.68 respectively.
“Concerns about global oil demand with the continued challenges China is facing with the spread of the covid-19 virus and the slowdown in economic activity in key global markets led to a decline in oil prices,” said Diab.
On Thursday, Brent crude rose 2.3 percent to $79.59 a barrel at 2:16 p.m. Riyadh time, while US West Texas Intermediate crude gained 2.2 percent to $74.47, recovering from the the biggest two-day loss at the start of a year in three decades.
“With the fluctuations in the price of oil and the uncertainties that we see in the global markets, volatility is likely to continue in the coming period,” Diab added.
However, stock markets in the Gulf Cooperation Council region broke the impasse on January 5 as all indexes except Dubai and Abu Dhabi rose. The Qatar Stock Exchange actually rose 300.19 points to close at 11,145.31.
Meanwhile, the top gain on the Tadawul Etihad Atheeb Telecommunication Co. rose. by 9.98 percent to SR58.40, followed by National Company for Learning and Education and Dur Hospitality Co., which added about 6 percent to close at SR75.8 and SR21.50, respectively.
From an announcement point of view, Jahez International Company for Information Systems Technology on Thursday informed the Tadawul to complete all procedures related to its acquisition of Marn Business Information Technology Co.
Last October, the company signed a share purchase agreement to fully acquire MBIT for SR 60 million, and the financial impact of this deal will be reflected in the first half of 2023. The share price on Thursday jumped 1.16 percent to SR 677.80.
Alinma Retail REIT Fund also announced that it has completed the acquisition of an office and commercial building in Riyadh. The fund manager said in a statement to the stock exchange that the purchase price is SR 52 million, and the brokerage fee is SR 500,000. Its share price climbed 1.62 percent to SR 5.03.