Growth in Saudi Arabia’s PMI resumes as new business orders increase

RIYADH: Saudi stocks ended on a lower note yesterday following three days of gains, as investors continued to assess movements in oil prices which spiked to their highest levels in years, amid intensifying geopolitical tensions. 

The main index,TASI, fell 0.2 percent to reach 12,654, while the parallel market, Nomu, slipped 0.15 percent to 24,962.

Other GCC bourses registered gains on Wednesday, with Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Qatar, and Kuwait all rising between 1.2 and 2.5 percent. 

Stock indexes of Bahrain and Oman ended flat. 

Elsewhere in the Middle East, the Egyptian EGX30 index inched 0.8 percent lower, reversing gains from a day ago.

In early Thursday trading, international benchmark Brent crude topped $117 per barrel, while US benchmark WTI hovered near $114 per barrel.

Despite the significant rise in oil prices seen recently, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+, decided to stick to the existing policy of increasing oil output by 40,000 barrels per day in April.

Stock news

• Shares in oil giant Aramco touched their highest level in  history at SR43.1 ($11.5) on Wednesday, propelled by a rally in the energy market
• Al-Jouf Agricultural Development Co. recorded an 18 percent decline in profit to SR17 million in 2021
• Southern Province Cement Co.’s board recommended distributing dividends of SR1.25 per share for the second half of 2021
• Saudi-listed food chain Herfy Food Services received a letter from a shareholder with over a five-percent stake requesting to hold a general assembly meeting to vote on suspending the board chairman
• Theeb Rent a Car Co. doubled its profit to SR126 million in 2021, compared to SR63 million a year earlier