RIYADH: Saudi Arabia's Tadawul All Share Index fell 54.03 points, or 0.44%, to close at 12,121.40.
The total trading value of the benchmark index was 6.9 billion Saudi riyals ($1.84 billion), with 69 listed stocks gaining while 150 stocks were losing.
The MSCI Tadawul Index fell 5.19 points, or 0.34%, to close at 1,519.30.
The UK Nomu stock index closed up 10.08 points, or 0.04%, at 26,513.06, with 28 listed stocks up and 31 down.
The best performing stock of the day was Kingdom Holding Co., with its stock price rising 9.50 percent to 9.80 riyals.
Other top performers included Saudi Automotive Services Co. and Tanmiah Food Co., whose shares jumped 6.14 percent and 3.43 percent to 62.20 riyals and 132.80 riyals, respectively.
Other top gainers included National Co. for Glass Industries and Al-Rajhi Co. for Cooperative Insurance.
The worst performer was Bawan Co., with its shares down 4.25 percent to 47.30 riyals.
Other stocks that saw significant declines included Buruj Cooperative Insurance Co. and City Cement Co., with their shares down 3.87 percent and 3.68 percent to 20.86 riyals and 18.84 riyals, respectively.
Shares of Saudi Manpower Solutions Co. and Al Sagr Cooperative Insurance Co. also fell.
On the announcement side, Arabian Cement reported a 7.8 percent decrease in sales to 402.8 million riyals in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period last year.
In a statement on Tadawul, the company attributed the decline to lower sales volumes due to weaker demand, even as the parent company's average selling price increased.
However, net profit jumped 7.6 percent in the first six months of this year to 83.1 million riyals, compared with 77.2 million riyals in the same period last year.
The increase was driven by a reduction in the Group's selling costs, an increase in the parent company's average selling price, and a decrease in selling and distribution expenses.
Arabian Pipes Co.'s revenue for the same period jumped 22.3 percent to 651.8 million riyals. Net profit also jumped to 111.8 million riyals, up 96.3 percent compared to the same period in 2023.
The company said the increase in revenue was driven by higher sales volumes, with net profit rising on the back of a higher gross profit to SR180.5 million in fiscal 2024 from SR99.4 million in the prior 12 months. This growth was mainly driven by improved production efficiency and supply chain management, as well as continued efforts to reduce production costs.
