Saudi stocks rose to an all-time high in record volumes in the week to yesterday, buoyed by gains by the two largest listed banks and optimism over first-quarter results.
Samba Financial Group climbed 8.4 percent to SR444.50 ($118.50) while Al-Rajhi Banking and Investment Corp. gained four percent to SR998.00. Traders said the largest Arab bourse was expected to hold steady, except for a technical drop next week after Saudi Telecom, which accounts for 21 percent of market capitalization, distributes dividends of SR14 per share. The rise was tempered by a 3.2 percent drop by blue-chip Saudi Electricity Co. following the lower-than-expected dividends of SR3.50 per share. It fell to SR105.00.
The all-share index ended at 4,954.67 points, up 0.8 percent from 4,916.06 a week ago. It is up 11.7 percent this year after surging 76.5 percent in 2003 on healthy earnings and firm oil prices, a boon for the economy of the world’s biggest crude exporter.
Turnover climbed to an all-time weekly high of SR28.4 billion from SR26.4 billion the previous week. “The market was driven by banking stocks... (as) investors are expecting a boost in their Q1 2004 profits,” Bakheet Financial Advisors (BFA) said in a report.
Traders said investor sentiment was also lifted by world oil prices at near 13-year highs. “We expect the market to hold steady while investors are waiting for Q1 2004 corporate financial results,” BFA said.
