RIYADH: The Tadawul All Index Share ended last week’s trading in the green zone for the fifth consecutive session with an increase of 112.11 points.
On the last day of trading, the index closed at 11,495.76 points, which was the highest level since Jan. 15, 2018.
Liquidity reached SR6.7 billion with 181.9 million shares traded in more than 293,000 deals. Al-Rajhi Bank, Tasnee and SABIC shares pushed the market upward.
Al-Rajhi Bank and the National Bank of Saudi Arabia recorded gains of 1.3 and 2 percent, respectively, and the share of STC rose by 2.6 percent.
The market was also supported by Saudi Telecom unit “solutions by stc” strong debut.
The Saudi exchange is likely to end 2021 with over 30 new listings, the chairman of its Capital Markets Authority recently said. The regulator approved five new listings last week.
The Saudi Telecom Co. also announced receiving a letter from the Public Investment Fund about a study to sell part of its shares in STC, while retaining a majority stake of more than 50 percent.
STC’s shares are up nearly 20 percent so far this year, according to Refinitiv data.
“The potential transaction is expected to contribute to PIF’s establishment and development of new sectors, in addition to strengthening the Saudi economy's growth and diversifying its sources of income,” PIF said in a statement.
PIF said it had appointed Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Morgan Stanley and SNB Capital to advise on the deal.
Nomu, the parallel market index, decreased by 257.36 points, or 1.08 percent, and closed at 23,652.32 points, after 1,970 deals.
