Riyadh-Mubasher: Tadawul-listed stocks plummeted by Wednesday’s mid-session, while the benchmark index fell by 4.53% or 422.8 points to the 8,908 level, rattled by the news that Saudi Arabia is moving heavy military equipment to areas near its border with Yemen.

Meanwhile, Yemen's embattled president, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, has asked the UN Security Council to authorise a military intervention in support of his government to oust Houthi rebels who control much of the country's north and are advancing south.

The real estate sector was the worst hit, with a drop of 8.56%, while Jabal Omar stock was the biggest loser. The sector was weighed by the Saudi cabinet’s decision to impose taxes on undeveloped land plots in urban areas.