By Thabet Shehata
Riyadh-Mubasher: Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) extended on Thursday its downtrend for the second straight day, losing 16 points or 0.25% to 6,354.48.
Eight sectors declined, led by banks and petrochemical industries which fell 0.79% and 0.68%, respectively. Meanwhile, seven sectors advanced, spearheaded by the telecom and real estate development which rose 0.4% and 2.2% in a row.
Saad Al-Saad, technical analyst, told Mubasher that the benchmark closed 2 points below its key support level of 6,356, noting that Thursday's trading activity is the weakest in one week as investors were anticipating the European Central Bank's meeting.
The ECB on Thursday cut its key lending rate to zero, pushed its deposit rate further into negative territory and significantly expanded the size and scope of its asset-buying programme.
Turnover reached around SAR 5.75 billion ($733 million), falling 11.7% compared with SAR 6.5 billion ($1.73 billion) on Wednesday. In addition, traded volume declined 19% to 324.2 million shares from 401.45 million shares.
Alinma Bank was the most active in traded volume and value, after 67 million shares were exchanged at a turnover of SAR 907.3 million. The stock closed 0.07% lower at SAR 13.45.
Kayan was the biggest loser, falling 3.74% to SAR 5.2, while Wafa Insurance was the top gainer, rising 9.5%.
Al-Saad said the index will face its key support of 6,098 points in the next period, noting that a break below this level will take the index further lower.
The analyst expressed concerns about impact from reporting the first quarter financial results on the market.
Translated by Abdul Maguid Aboshahla
