Sabic pushes Tadawul index down

The Saudi market opened down despite the rise in third quarter profits for some companies including Halwani Brothers, Fetaihi and Al Mejaal Group, while leading shares in banks, telecoms and petrochemicals continued to put pressure on the index which managed to close above 6.500 points.

Sabic fell by 10% to SR95 after rumours that the group would announce lower Q3 profits following the decline in petrochemical product prices internationally.

Sabic, which dominated 16.5% of the total trading which reached SR6.7bn, made all petrochemical shares decline by the maximum limit of 10% including Yansab, Safco, Kayan, Sepchem and other petrochemical shares.

Meanwhile all banks shares fell except SABB and Investment bank which rose by 4.4% and 0.26% respectively.

Telecom shares also fell except Mobily which rose by 2.3%, while STC and Zain fell by 3% and 2.9% respectively.

The record profits posted by Fetaihi, Al Mejaal and Halwani Brothers pushed them up, including Halwani 3% after posting 13.5% rise in Q3 profits to SR10.2m and SR50.8m for nine months.

Fetaihi rose by 1.3% after posting SR25.4m profits compared to SR5m losses last year, while Al Mejaal Group posted 17% rise in profits to reach SR204m closing up 2.5% at SR68.25.