By Maged Al-Shabib

Riyadh-Mubasher: Saudi Stock Exchange’s (Tadawul) benchmark closed Tuesday with a modest gain of 0.49% or 36 points to reach the 7,462.49 level.  

A total of 164.9 million shares changed hands through over 82,000 trades at a turnover of SAR 3.7 billion.

Seven sectors moved higher, topped by the telecom and retail sectors which rose 1.3% and 0.78%, respectively.

On the other hand, eight sectors moved lower, led by the hotels which fell 3.4% and the real estate development which dipped 0.62%.

Out of the 166 stocks traded on Tuesday, 94 headed north, with Wataniya and SAICO ranking as the best performers, rocketing 9.72% and 7.66% in a row.

On the negative side, 59 stocks headed south, led by Al-Tayyar which fell 4.52%. MESC had the second-worst showing, dropping 3.23%.

Translated by Abdul Maguid Aboshahla