Saudi equity markets closed in negative territory on Wednesday, with the Tadawul All Share finishing the session down 0.27%.
The decline followed broad weakness across several sectors, notably Media & Publishing, Insurance and Real Estate Development, which collectively pressured the benchmark.
Top performers
- Gulf Insurance Group (TADAWUL:8250) led gains, rising 6.24% or 1.86 points to close at 31.68. The stock reached 52-week highs during the session.
- Al ELM Information Security Company CJSC (TADAWUL:7203) added 3.37% or 24.00 points to finish at 737.00.
- East Pipes Integrated Company for Industry (TADAWUL:1321) climbed 3.14% or 6.70 points to end at 220.00, registering an all-time high.
Largest decliners
- Aljazira Takaful Taawuni Company (TADAWUL:8012) fell 4.95% or 0.60 points to close at 11.52.
- Saudi Cement Company (TADAWUL:3030) dropped 4.33% or 1.42 points to finish at 31.38.
- Rabigh Refining & Petrochemical Co (TADAWUL:2380) declined 4.15% or 0.55 points to end at 12.70.
Market breadth favored losers: falling issues outnumbered advancing ones by 214 to 98, while 25 stocks were unchanged at the close.
Commodities and currency moves
Energy benchmarks posted modest gains during the session. Crude oil for July delivery rose 0.63% or 0.48 to $76.53 a barrel. Brent oil for August delivery increased 0.75% or 0.59 to $79.55 a barrel.
In precious metals, the August Gold Futures contract slipped 0.07% or 2.90 to trade at $4,351.50 a troy ounce.
On currency moves related to the Saudi riyal, EUR/SAR was unchanged 0.07% at 4.35, while USD/SAR was essentially unchanged, moving 0.01% to 3.75. The US Dollar Index Futures advanced 0.12% to 99.39.
Context and closing note
Today’s session was marked by concentrated gains among a few stocks while a larger set of companies moved lower, resulting in the Tadawul All Share retreat. Gulf Insurance Group and East Pipes were standouts on the upside, with the former reaching a 52-week peak and the latter hitting an all-time high. Several heavyweight names in insurance, construction and refining finished the day materially lower, contributing to the negative breadth.
Investors monitoring commodity and currency flows may note the modest upward moves in crude benchmarks and the firming of the U.S. dollar futures alongside these equity developments.