By: Thabet Shehata
Riyadh – Mubasher: The Saudi Stock Exchange witnessed a negative performance during August to continue its losses for the second month in a row, weighted by the banks, cement and telecommunication sector.
The main index fell 3.53% or 222.66 points to reach 6,079.51 points in August, compared to 6,302.17 points in July.
Market capitalisation retreated to SAR 1.42 trillion ($378.3 billion) by the end of August from SAR 1.46 trillion ($389.27 billion) by the end of July.
The average turnover per session in August was SAR 2.96 billion, down 20.5% from SAR 3.7 billion as average per session in July.
Total turnover for August was SAR 67.97 billion (23 sessions) compared to SAR 59.46 billion in July which included 16 sessions.
The average traded volume per session in August decreased 24% to 166.89 million shares from 220 million shares as average per session in July.
The media sector topped the worst performers dropping 17.43%, followed by insurance and cement sectors which fell 9.35% and 8%, respectively.
The telecommunication and banks sectors were also down 5.86% and 3.38%, respectively.
On the other hand, the energy sector led the gaining sectors rising 2.45%, followed by petrochemical and multi-investment sectors which added 1.23% and 1.02%, respectively.
In August, Al Rajhi Bank and the National Commercial Bank (NCB) lost 1.34% and 7.37% to SAR 56.51 and SAR 34.80, respectively.
Saudi Telecom Company (STC) fell to SAR 58.07, while Mobily decreased 5.23% to SAR 22.46.
On the other hand, Saudi Basic Industries (SABIC) grew 1.45% to SAR 82.61 and Saudi Arabian Fertilisers Company’s (SAFCO) advanced 10.15% to SAR 66.66.
Translated by: Sara Ghali
