CAIRO: Saudi Arabia's TADAWUL All Share Index, or TASI, managed to end the 1st quarter of 2012 on a positive increase of 22.09 percent (1,417.42 points). It closed at 7835.15 points, and the main index for the Saudi exchange gained 1272.3 points (19.39 percent) over the close from the same period of the previous year. The index soared to its highest level since September 2008 on Saturday, closing at 7835.15 points. Total equity market capitalization at the end of the 1st quarter 2012 reached SR 1,539.61 billion (US$ 410.56 billion), which increased by 16.72 percent over the same period of the previous year. The total value of shares traded for the 1st quarter 2012 reached SR 684.71 billion (US$ 182.59 billion), increasing by 163.07 percent over the same period of the previous year. A Saudi analyst told BikyaMasr.com that the rise which the index gained was largely due to the petrochemical sector, as it continues to gain points in 1st quarter of 2012. But Mohammed al-Zien, a Saudi analyst at a brokerage firm, warned that this rise may end in a dangerous slip in the few coming months. He said, “We are wary about the pace of the gains, the surge in volumes and the very high proportion of trading focused on a few small sectors and stocks, and this may take the index to a very dangerous level.” BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/NWvJ9 Tags: Economy, Index, Saudi, Stocks Section: Business, Gulf, Latest News, Saudi Arabia
