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Tumultuous week sees Saudi index decline sharply
The Saudi stock market this week saw a sharp decline due to international fears of a US recession and global slowdown.
- By Mariam Al Hakeem, Correspondent
- Published: 00:04 January 25, 2008
Riyadh: The Saudi stock market this week saw a sharp decline due to international fears of a US recession and global slowdown.
The Tadawul All Share Index lost around 2,200 points in three days in a declining wave that hit global markets in general. Corporate financial results that came lower than analyst expectations added more negative pressure on the market.
Sabic, the world's largest chemical maker, announced fourth-quarter profit of 6.9 billion riyals, as against analysts' expectations of more than 8.4 billion riyals.
Al Rajhi announced a profit of 1.6 billion riyals, whereas analysts were expecting it to be about 1.7 billion riyals. Samba announced quarterly profits of 900 million riyals, nearly 500 million riyals less than what was expected.
The index stood at 9338.54 points on Wednesday, down 18.9 per cent from last week. It was 16.2 per cent lower than the beginning of the year. Trading value reached 73.9 billion riyals, down against last week's 79.6 billion riyals.
Gulf scenario
Gulf shares fell on speculation prices have outpaced prospects for earnings growth after gauges rebounded yesterday from some of the steepest declines on record.
Bank Muscat SAOG declined. Barwa Real Estate dropped after it acquired a stake in the planned "Shard of Glass" skyscraper in London.
"Investors are booking some profits from yesterday's big jump after countries across the Gulf cut interest rates,'' Faisal Hasan, head of research at Kuwait-based Global Investment House, said.'
Oman's Muscat Securities Market 30 Index fell 0.9 per cent, while Qatar's Doha Securities Market Index slipped 0.4 per cent.
The Bahrain All Share Index decreased 0.6 per cent, while the Kuwait Stock Exchange Index increased 0.2 per cent.
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