RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s stock market got off to a firmer start to the trading week as stocks recovered their poise, fueled by optimistic sentiment, earnings, and record oil prices.
TASI, the main index, gained 0.5 percent to 12,204 points, crossing the 12,200 level after two straight days in the red zone. The parallel market, Nomu, edged up by 0.4 percent to 25,316 points.
Among the kingdom’s biggest players, oil giant Aramco slipped 0.27 percent and Al Rajhi Bank edged 0.54 percent higher.
Saudi insurers Amana and Enaya topped the gainers, up 10 percent and 8.6 percent, respectively.
After disclosing their financial results for 2021, telecom firm Etihad Atheeb, Bank Albilad, and Bank AlJazira were all down in today’s session, while Leejam Sports Co. saw a 2.4 percent surge in its share price.
Leejam Sports — which is the operator of the largest Saudi gym chain — earlier recorded its highest ever annual profit for 2021.
Etihad Atheeb led the fallers, declining 2.56 percent, after turning from profits into losses in the nine months ending Dec. 31, 2021.
Amid trading of over 9.9 million shares, shares in Alinma Bank added 0.85 percent following the announcement of a new special unit for derivatives.
In energy trading, oil prices hit their longest streak of weekly gains on Friday since October. Brent crude reached $93.3 a barrel, and US benchmark WTI surged to $92.3 per barrel.
Saudi exchange’s parallel market to see two new listings on Feb. 7