TASI continues to rise in the face of high oil prices: Closing bell

TASI continues to rise in the face of high oil prices: Closing bell

RIYADH: Saudi stocks closed Monday higher, recovering from previous losses following higher crude oil prices and global shares. Saudi Arabia’s main index, TASI, ended 2.33 percent higher at 11,555, while the parallel market, Nomu, edged 0.49 percent higher at 20,711. This was led by a 9.98 percent leap in Saudi Arabian Mining Co. and a 9.92 increase in Saudi petrochemicals maker Sipchem. Saudi oil giant Aramco soared 4.19 percent and Saudi National Bank, one of the Kingdom’s biggest lenders, rose 2.69 percent. The Kingdom’s largest valued bank Al Rajhi saw its share price rise by 2.34 percent. Shares of Saudi Chemanol surged 7.57 percent, following the report that its profit surged 116 percent in the first half. Saudi retailer eXtra gained 5.46 percent as it reported strong results for the first half, with a 24 percent growth in profit. The biggest faller on the list was Arabia Insurance Cooperative Co., which saw its share price fall by 9.93 percent. In energy trading, Brent crude settled at $103.74 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate reached $99.78 a barrel, as of 3:28 p.m. Saudi time.