Riyadh – Mubasher: The Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) closes on a positive note on Thursday, to remain above the 7,000 points level, backed by the petrochemical sector.
The main index rose 1.34% or 93.48 points to stand at 7,093.66 points.
Traded values fell 5.5% to SAR 6.73 billion ($1.8 billion) compared to SAR 7.12 billion ($1.9 billion) on Wednesday.
Traded volumes also decreased 1.4% to 402.93 million shares compared to 408.6 million shares yesterday.
The rise of the petrochemical sector was attributed to the agreement reached by the OPEC yesterday to reduce the oil production by about 1.2 million barrels to 32.5 million barrel by the beginning of January.
Brent crude exceeded $52 per barrel for the first time in five months, so that its futures rose 1.1% to $52.41 per barrel, by 5:06 GMT.
The energy sector was the only loser and shed 0.23%, while the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) remained stable.
The petrochemical sector topped the best performers and advanced 3.5%, followed by the cement and retail sectors which went up 2.7% and 2.6%, respectively.
SAFCO led the gaining shares and increased 8% to SAR 80, while Ash Sharqiyah Development Company led the losing shares and fell 2% to SAR 45.9.
Dar Al Arkan was the most active in terms of traded volume, exchanging 89.8 million shares at a value of SAR 538.3 million.
Al Inma Bank was the most active in terms of traded values of SAR 601 million by exchanging 41.6 million shares; the stock added 0.63% to SAR 14.3.
