RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index lost 23.15 points — or 0.22 percent — on Tuesday to close at 10,496.59.
While MSCI Tadawul 30 Index fell 0.30 percent to 1,434.66, the parallel market Nomu closed 42.25 percent lower at 19,398.79.
TASI’s total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR3.81 billion ($1.02 billion) as 80 stocks of the listed 224 advanced and 125 receded.
Almarai Co. was the best performer on Tuesday as its share price surged 5.86 percent to SR56.
The other top performers were Etihad Atheeb Telecommunication Co., Alamar Foods Co., Perfect Presentation for Commercial Services Co., also known as 2P, and Electrical Industries Co..
Leading franchise leader Fawaz Abdulaziz Alhokair Co. was the worst-performing stock of the day as its share price slipped 4.01 percent to SR16.26.
Other poor performers were Saudi Industrial Investment Group, Arab National Bank, Riyadh Cables Group Co. and Jazan Energy and Development Co..
Among sectoral indices, 12 of the 21 listed on the stock exchange advanced while the rest declined.
The Food & Beverages Index was the biggest gainer as it closed 3.41 percent to 4,937.38, led by the rich gains posted by Almarai Co.. Out of the 10 constituents of the sector, five were in green while the rest were in the red.
The Software & Services Index also jumped 2.78 percent to 40,217.67, driven by a 4.24 percent boost in the share price of 2P to SR177.20. Public Investment Fund-owned Elm Co. also rose 3.19 percent to close at SR394.80.
On the announcements front, Americana Restaurants International informed the stock exchange that it posted a 27 percent increase in net profit to SR972.1 million in 2022 from SR764.7 million a year earlier.
The positive performance was driven by 15.9 percent higher year-on-year revenue as new restaurants opened. Revenues increased 15.9 percent to SR8.92 billion in 2022 from SR7.69 billion in the previous year.
Earnings per riyal increased 27.1 percent to SR0.12 from SR0.09 during the period under review. The food chain’s fourth-quarter net profit rose 28 percent to SR237.61 million from SR184.99 million in the year-earlier period. However, its share price on Tuesday declined 2.51 percent to SR3.88.
Jahez International Co. for Information System Technology stated that Alamat International Co., a major shareholder, transferred 1.25 million shares, or 11.93 percent of Jahez capital, to its current shareholders, according to a filing to Tadawul.
The transfer was made on Feb. 13, resulting in a change in Jahez’s major shareholders’ list. The company’s shares closed flat at SR649.
