RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index gained 74.64 points, or 0.73 per cent, to close at 10,496.59 on Wednesday.
While the MSCI Tadawul 30 index rose 0.81 per cent to 1,446.26, parallel market Nomu gained 0.06 per cent to 19,409.88.
TASI’s total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR4.13 billion ($1.10 billion) as 112 stocks advanced and 98 declined out of 224 listed.
The Saudi Stock Exchange’s performance contrasted with global cues, with the S&P 500 ending 0.03 percent lower at 4,136.13, after earlier rising 0.54 percent and falling 1.02 percent.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.46 percent to 34,089.27 while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.57 percent to 11,960.15.
The Australian Stock Exchange’s S&P-ASX200 closed down 1.06 per cent at 7,352.20, hitting a new 20-day low.
Similarly, London’s FTSE 100 index and French CAC 40 index ended flat at 7,953.85 and 7,213.81 respectively on Tuesday, while German DAX fell 0.11 per cent to 15,380.56.
Back in Saudi Arabia, Dr Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Services Group was the best performer on Wednesday as its share price rose 5.17 per cent to SR244.
Other top performers were Al-Baha Investment and Development Company, Yamama Cement Company, Saudi Aramco Base Oil Company and City Cement Company.
The day’s worst performer on the TASI was Al Ghassim Investment Holding Company, down 6.77 per cent to SR26.15.
In sectoral indices, 15 of the 21 listed on the stock exchange advanced while the rest declined.
On the announcements front, Yamama Cement Company informed the stock exchange that it reported a 131.5 percent increase in net profit after zakat and tax from SR153.7 million to SR355.8 million in 2022, thanks to higher selling prices and Better “other income” income after volume.
Its revenue is set to grow by 39 percent to SR1.02 billion in 2022 from SR735.84 million. Furthermore, in the fourth quarter of 2022, the cement company posted a net profit of SR134.2 million as against a net loss of SR18.86 million during the same period last year.
Yamama Cement Company’s board of directors also recommended a 10 percent cash dividend for 2022 at SR1 per share, amounting to SR202.5 million. Share price of Yamama closed 3.78 percent higher at SR28.85.
Hardware’s board of directors recommended the Saudi company buyback 350,000 shares, or 0.97 percent of the company’s total shares, as the treasury shares were financed from the company’s internal cash resources.
The buyback results from the board’s view that the market value of the company’s shares is below fair value. The company’s share price ended slightly higher at SR29.15.
The Arab Insurance Cooperative Company won a SR62 million contract from the Al Hokair Group, including Senomi Centers, Senomi Retail and other subsidiaries, to provide general insurance services. The share price of AICC rose slightly above SR11.