RIYADH: Middle Eastern stock markets continued their rally from “Black Monday”, when global stock indexes fell on concerns about a possible US recession, sparked by a weak jobs report from the world's largest economy.
Saudi Arabia's Tadawul All Share Index closed at 11,729.71, up 50.55 points, or 0.43%, on Wednesday.
The total trading value of the benchmark index was 6.98 billion Saudi riyals ($1.86 billion), with 169 stocks gaining while 62 stocks were losing.
The Nomu stock index of the UK stock market closed at 25,903.77, up 207.67 points or 0.81%, with 30 listed stocks up and 31 down.
The MSCI Tadawul Index rose 0.79 points, or 0.05%, to close at 1,467.35.
Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Co. was the best performer today, with its shares up 10 percent to 8.14 riyals.
Other notable performers include Baazeem Trading Co. and Al-Baha Investment and Development Co.
The worst performer was Malath Cooperative Insurance Co., with its shares down 6.12 percent to 15.66 riyals.
Walaa Cooperative Insurance and Rasan Information Technology also saw their shares decline.
In its announcement, Kingdom Holding Co. reported a 76.43 percent increase in net profit in the first half of this year to 820 million riyals. The increase was driven by higher profits from the sale of assets, profits from the sale of investment properties and lower financial expenses.
Saudi Electricity reported a 16.5 percent increase in net profit in the first half of 2024 to 5.5 billion riyals, boosted by higher revenue and lower financing costs.
Saudi Cable Co. reported an 87.7 percent drop in net profit to 7.02 million Saudi riyals, while SAL Saudi Logistics Services Co. reported a 70.71 percent increase in net profit to 363 million Saudi riyals, driven by higher revenue and cost control efforts.
Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical reported a net loss of 2.46 billion riyals in the first half of the year, up from 2.1 billion riyals in the same period last year, due to lower sales volumes and profit margins.
Alkhorayef Water and Power Technologies reported a significant increase in net profit to SAR 119 million in the first half of 2024, an increase of 75.57 percent compared to the same period last year, mainly due to higher operating profit.
National Metal Manufacturing and Casting Co. incurred a net loss of SR19.17 million in the first six months of the year, down from a loss of SR12.46 million recorded in the same period of 2023. The increase in losses was due to a decrease in sales of shafts, spare parts and casting products, as well as a decrease in the average selling price of wire-drawn products.
Riyadh Cement reported a net profit of SR134 million in the first half of 2024, up 6.22 percent from the same period last year, driven by higher selling prices and higher revenue, despite an increase in zakat expenses.
On Wednesday, the Dubai Financial Market rose 1.45 percent, while the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange rose 1.05 percent.
Qatar Stock Exchange rose 0.28 percent, Bahrain Stock Exchange rose 0.09 percent and Kuwait Stock Exchange rose 0.84 percent.
