By: Bedour El Raie

Riyadh – Mubasher: The Saudi Stock Exchange’s (Tadawul) benchmark Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) slid by 68.28 points, or 0.85%, to close at 7,984.43 points on Wednesday.

TASI’s turnover rose to SAR 3.140 billion on Wednesday from SAR 2.99 billion in the previous session, while the market’s trading volume amounted to 116.899 million shares.

Al Rajhi Bank’s stock spearheaded TASI in terms of liquidity with SAR 388.675 million, while Alinma Bank’s stock registered the highest trading volume of 12.46 million shares.

The telecommunications sector led the fallers after sliding by 1.95%, while the energy sector topped the gainers and added 2.72% on the back of the 9.9% rise in Aldrees Petroleum and Transport Services Co’s stock which reached its highest level since 2006.

Saudi Automotive Services Company’s (SASCO) stock headed the risers and advanced by 9.96% to SAR 23.84.

The rise in turnover during Wednesday’s trading session was driven by the increased liquidity generated by blue-chip stocks, including Al Rajhi Bank, Alinma Bank, and Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC), Ali Al Jaafari, a financial analyst, told Mubasher.

In addition, Aldrees Petroleum and Transport Services Co’s stock was active in terms of trading volume after receiving the Ministry of Energy’s approval on increasing profit margins of fuel stations, Al Jaafari noted.

Al Jaafari expects this decision to have a positive impact on the company’s performance and financial position in the coming period.

He noted that investors currently await the financial results for the third quarter of 2019 which will have a significant impact on the stocks till the end of the year.

In the meantime, NOMU, the main index of the Nomu secondary market, inched up 0.03% to 3,970.59 points.

Raydan Food Co’s stock was NOMU’s best performer with 1.74%, while Abdullah Saad Mohammed Abo Moati for Bookstores Co’s stock was NOMU’s worst performer after dropping by 1.67%.