The Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) extended gains for several weeks in a row. Last week, the index added 195.17 points, or 2.78 percent, to end at 7,226.43 and even poked above its previous 52-Week highest level at 7,031.26. It logged a healthy YTD return of 12.6 percent. "Though volatility exists but overall upward momentum in major recent economic indicators correlates Tadawul to drive high," Basil Kabbani, CEO of Zughaibi & Kabbani Financial Consultants, said. This upward price movement and happy buying climate may prolong at Saudi stock market, he added. Total market capitalization of Saudi stock exchange reached at SR1.42 trillion as compared to previous week's SR1.38 trillion, an increase of three percent. Med Cap performed well relatively as it posted a weekly growth of 4.4 percent to close at 4,876.3 points. Twelve out of Tadawul's fifteen sectors ended the week in green territory; Media & Publishing remained at top for the third consecutive week on Wednesday, showing an increment of 162.8 points, or 6.6 percent, 2,629.16 from 2,466.29. Hotel & Tourism sector came out as worst performing sector which lost 168.5 points or down 2.4 percent for the week. Saudi Industrial Development Co. dominated the performance among Saudi scrips with 18.09 percent weekly growth to close at SR28.40. On the other hand, Mohammad Al-Mojil Group came out as the biggest loser of the week, declining by 21.9 percent. General perception of the market participants remained positive; total equity turnover at Tadawul increased to 2.7 billion shares worth SR60.96 billion. This turnover reflects a weekly growth of 25.8 percent on volume basis and 17.6 percent in terms of value. The market leader SABIC (Saudi Basic Industries Corp.) and Zain remained as most active stocks through the week. SABIC with SR3.8 billion expanded the liquidity; its price crossed the level of SR101.50. Zain stood parallel with more than 315.96 million shares traded during the week. GCC equities stepping up further to boost market share and volumes. All benchmark indices at GCC stock markets ended the week in green except Bahrain, which slightly declined by 0.53 percent. DFM index performed relatively well, dug in at 1,702.01 and finished the week over 4.3 percent. Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange with 3.3 percent weekly growth ranked second. The benchmark GulfBase GCC General Index broke the psychological barrier of 4,000 points mark, up 83.9 points and closed at 4056.55 levels, a weekly growth of 2.1 percent.
