RIYADH: The Saudi stock exchange opened the trading week higher as investors await the kickoff of the Kingdom’s Future Minerals Forum later this week.
As of 10:15 a.m. Saudi time, TASI, the main index, added 0.5 percent to 11,487 points, while the parallel Nomu market edged down by 0.8 percent to 25,419 points.
Among the top five gainers, the Gulf’s mining champion, ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵn Mining Co., known as Ma’aden, saw a 2.4 percent increase in its share price, reaching SR82 ($21.8).
Saudi Cable Co. recorded the highest gains in early trading, up 7 percent, after its application to reduce its capital to SR262 million was approved by the Capital Market Authority.
In the banking sector, Saudi's largest bank by market cap, Al Rajhi Bank, was up 0.3 percent to SR143, and the Saudi National Bank added 1.6 percent to reach SR68.6.
The Kingdom’s oil giant Saudi Aramco edged up by 0.3 percent to SR35.6.
Shares in Saudi National Co. for Learning and Education, or NCLE, rose 2.7 percent upon a 378 percent profit increase during the quarter ended Nov. 30, 2021, compared to the same quarter last year.
Leading the losses, shares of Saudia Dairy and Foodstuff Co., or SADAFCO, dropped 2.2 percent, despite the board’s proposal to payout SR3 per share for the first half of the fiscal year ended Mar. 31, 2022.
