DUBAI, UAE – The Saudi market’s primary index fell for the eighth week in a row, this time by 0.7 percent.
At the same time, the Abu Dhabi index fell for four of the five days, and by 0.1 percent, at the end of trading on Friday. While Dubai’s main index fell three days out of five this week and ended Friday’s trading down 0.2 percent.
Saudi Stocks Vary
The Saudi index closed trading on Sunday (December 18, 2022) down, ending gains that lasted three sessions. TASI fell 0.4 percent, pressured by a 2.5 percent decline in Riyad Bank. The oil giant Aramco’s share also declined 0.6 percent.
Shares of Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Services Company declined 3 percent on Monday (December 19, 2022), contributing to a 0.6 percent loss in the Saudi index and the end of a three-session winning streak.
Following gains in Al-Rajhi Bank (up 3.7 percent) and RETAL Urban Development (up 1.8 percent) on Tuesday (December 20, 2022), the Saudi benchmark index finished the day up 0.9 percent.
On Thursday (December 21, 2022), the main index in Saudi Arabia dropped 0.6 percent due to drops in both Al-Rajhi Bank (-2 percent) and RETAL Urban Development (-0.5 percent).
The Abu Dhabi index fell
First Abu Dhabi Bank, the largest bank in the UAE, contributed to a 0.3 percent increase in the Abu Dhabi index on Monday (December 19, 2022) but a 0.2 percent decrease the next day on Tuesday (December 20, 2022).
On Wednesday (December 21, 2022), the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange index declined by 0.04 percent, and three sectors did as well, with energy seeing the most significant decline at 0.94 percent.
Though the index was down 0.3 percent on Thursday (December 22, 2022), losses were mitigated by a 0.7 percent increase in oil prices.
On Friday (December 23, 2022), the Abu Dhabi index dropped 0.1 percent, marking its fourth straight decrease.
Both Global Holding and Aldar Properties contributed to this decline, falling by 0.2 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively.
Dubai index dropping as banks share decline
On Monday (December 19, 2022), the Dubai index closed up 0.3 percent, with the leading share of Emaar Properties up 1.9 percent.
Tuesday (December 20, 2022) saw a 0.3 percent increase in the main Dubai stock index, thanks mainly to a 10.1 percent increase in the National Central Cooling Company.
On Wednesday (December 21, 2022), the index finished down 0.3 percent, breaking a streak of advances that had lasted for five sessions.
This decline was driven by a 1.7 percent drop in Dubai Water and Electricity Authority (DEWA) shares price.
On Thursday (December 22, 2022), the main index declined 0.5 percent as a result of a decline in Emirates NBD Bank of 1.1 percent.
In addition, the leading share of Emaar Properties was down 0.3 percent, and the top share of Emirates NBD Bank was down 0.4 percent on Friday (December 23, 2022).
This contributed to a 0.2 percent drop in the main index in Dubai.