Index closes: Saudi Arabia's main index closes at 11,679 as Middle Eastern stocks rebound
RIYADH: Most stock markets in the Persian Gulf rebounded on Tuesday as comments from a US Federal Reserve official helped ease investor concerns after a global sell-off earlier in the day on fears the US economy could tip into a recession.
Saudi Arabia's Tadawul All Share Index rose 174.70 points, or 1.52%, to close at 11,679.16.
The benchmark index recorded total trading volume of 9.07 billion Saudi riyals ($2.42 billion), with 194 stocks up and 35 down.
Saudi Arabia's Nomu stock exchange index was flat on Tuesday, down just 5.37 points to 25,696.10.
The MSCI Tadawul Index rose 1.31 percent to close at 1,466.56 points.
The best-performing stock of the day was Emaar The Economic City, with its shares up 10 percent to 7.81 riyals.
Other top performers included Al Sagr Cooperative Insurance Co. and Saudi Fisheries Co., with their shares up 9.99 percent and 9.96 percent, respectively.
The worst performer on the main market was Walaa Cooperative Insurance Co. Its shares fell 9.99 percent to 21.80 riyals.
In the parallel market, the top gainers were Clean Life Co. and Almuneef Co. for trading, industry, agriculture and contracting, with their stock prices rising 9.93 percent and 9.63 percent, respectively.
On the announcement side, Jamjoom Pharmaceuticals Factory reported a net profit of SR209.92 million in the first half of this year, up 22.99 percent compared to the same period in 2023.
The significant increase in net income was driven by higher revenue and offset by higher cost of sales and improved cost efficiency in other operating expenses, the pharmaceutical company said in a Tadawul statement.
Jamjoom Pharmaceuticals Factory Co. also announced a 16 percent cash dividend for the first half of this year at 1.6 riyals per share.
Dar Alarkan Real Estate Development announced its interim financial results for the first half of this year on Tuesday. According to a statement from Tadawul, the company recorded a net profit of 318.71 million riyals in the first six months of this year, an increase of 20.67 percent compared to the same period in 2023.
The real estate company said the increase in profit was due to higher revenue year-on-year from improved property sales and project management consulting.
Yamama Cement reported a 5.24% year-on-year drop in net profit to 199.65 million riyals in the first half of this year.
Dubai's main stock index jumped 2.4 percent, recovering from Monday's more than 4 percent loss.
Blue-chip real estate developer Emaar Properties rose 4.9 percent, while the Abu Dhabi index added 1.4 percent.
Bahrain's stock market fell 0.1 percent to 1,930, while Kuwait's stock market rose 1.1 percent to 7,625.
Qatar's stock market was flat on Tuesday, with the index down just 8.23 points, or 0.08%, to settle at 10,049 points.
