RIYADH: Saudi shares closed lower for the fourth straight day in the final trading session of the week as traders struggled to gain ground and energy prices fluctuated.
Oil price volatility continued, with Brent crude hitting $105.38 a barrel and WTI crude hitting $103.61 a barrel, as of 3:32 p.m. KST.
Saudi Arabia’s main stock index, TASI, fell 4.06% to 12,835, while the parallel market, Nomu, also fell 0.12% to 22,646.
Saudi Industrial Export Co. climbed 9.98% to lead the winners, following its shareholders’ approval to raise its capital by 800% to SR194 million ($51 million).
The financial sector continued to struggle as Banque Saudi Fransi fell 9.96% to lead the fallers, while Alinma and Al Rajhi fell 7.09 and 6.53%, respectively.
Shares of Saudi Aramco, the dominant player in the Saudi oil market, edged down 1.76%.
Saudi Basic Industries Corp., known as SABIC, fell 1.63%, despite a 33% increase in first-quarter profits.
Herfy Food Services Co. slid 8.27%, although the company posted an 11.5% rise in first-quarter profit.
In the healthcare sector, Al-Dawaa Medical Services Co. lost 5.02%, after announcing a 10% increase in quarterly profits, while Nahdi Medical Co. edged down 5.81%.