By Asel bin Taleb
Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi Stock Exchange, or Tadawul, advanced on Thursday, with the main gauge gaining 88 points, or 1.41% to close at 6,394.67 points.
The technical target for the main index continues to be at 6,600 points, said Faisal Al-Sawadi, technical analyst, adding that the market’s bullish sentiment continued despite Moody’s report on outlook for the kingdom’s banking sector.
Moody's Investors Service on Wednesday changed its outlook for the Saudi banking sector to negative from stabl.
The outlook reflects the agency's expectation that the persistently low oil prices and resultant government spending declines will ultimately weigh on the sector.
"We expect the operating environment for Saudi banks to weaken over the next 12-18 months," said Olivier Panis, a Moody's vice president, senior credit officer, "With the prospect of lower oil prices for longer and a 14% reduction in public spending in 2016, we believe that the credit risks across the system are rising”.
Today’s liquidity amounted to more than SAR 6.4 billion, upon trading 347 million shares in 137,000 transactions.
127 stocks moved higher, 37 others moved lower and 3 remained unchanged.
Thirteen sectors headed north, while cement and media & publishing fell by 2.29% and 25.3% in a row. The banks and financial services sector rose by more than 257 points. Retail and agriculture also increased by 148.18 points and 120.22 points respectively.
Zain KSA was the best performer, with a jump of 9.5% to SAR 7.95. It was followed by Alujain that was ahead 4.57% at SAR 14.65, the Al Babtain that rose by 4.19% to SAR 25.
Enaya was the biggest drag, shedding 4.27% to SAR 11.2. Wataniya came second with a drop of 4.11% to SAR 51.75, then Al-Ahlia that was off 3.3% to SAR 6.45.
Alinma Bank was the volume leader, upon exchanging more than 53.6 million shares, followed by Saudi Kayan (19.6 million shares) and Dar Al Arkan (18.5 million shares).
Tihama was the most active with a number of transactions reaching 7,975.
Translated by Sayed Abdel Rahman
