JEDDAH -- 7 April 2008 -- The BMG Saudi Index went back to negative territory, moving back, by 1.6 percent, from a closing level of 534.46 points, registered in Saturday's session, to a level of 526.01 points attained in Sunday's session. The market turnover also witnessed a sharp drop, by 18.7 percent, to a total of SR3.1 billion ($822 million), versus SR3.8 billion ($1.01 billion), traded in the previous session.
All the sectors followed the Index's downtrend. The Services sector was the worst performing sector, with a 2.1 percent drop in its closing level. The Industrial and the Electricity sectors declined by 1.9 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively, whereas both the Insurance and the Banking sectors went down by 0.9 percent. The Telecommunications and the Agricultural sectors followed suit, sliding by 0.8 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively.
A total of 23 Shares ended the session in the red zone, whilst only two shares recorded gains. The best performer was Aldrees Petroleum and Transport Services Co., moving up by 3.1 percent to SR42.25 per share. The National Shipping Co. of Saudi Arabia, the last session's best performer, switched its position to the worst performing share of the day, descending by 5.9 percent to SR24.00 per share. The Index's two leading shares, SABIC and Al-Rajhi, recorded losses in their share prices, by 1.8 percent and 0.9 percent, to close Sunday's session at SR154.50 and SR86.00, respectively.
© Arab News 2008
