The BMG Saudi Index ended the week’s last trading session yesterday on a negative note. The index closed 0.4 percent lower at 518.60 points. The market turnover, however, surged, by 33.5 percent to SR3.5 billion ($934 million), compared to SR2.6 billion ($700 million) registered on Tuesday’s session.

The best performer yesterday was industrial sector, going up by a very marginal 0.03 percent. The worst performing sector was electricity sector, with a 1.8 percent decrease in its closing level, whereas the telecommunications, services, and insurance sectors went down by 1.2 percent, 0.9 percent, and 0.7 percent, respectively.

The remaining banking and agricultural sectors also incurred losses of 0.7 percent from their previous closing levels. Only 3 shares were upward movers, whereas 7 shares were unchanged. Out of 20 shares which fell, Saudi Indian Company for Cooperative Insurance was the worst performer, with a 2.8 percent fall in its share price to SR78.25. The best performer was Saudi International Petrochemical Co., ascending by 3.5 percent to SR37.50. The leading shares by market capitalization, Al-Rajhi Bank and Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC), ended the session on a negative note, contributing to the whole index’s decline. SABIC’s shares depreciated by 0.1 percent to SR174.25 per share, whilst Al-Rajhi Bank’s share price dipped by 0.6 percent to SR88.00 per share.