JEDDAH – Saudi shares closed narrowly higher Saturday, with gains for Saudi telecom firm Mobily after impressive profit results, but losses in the key petrochemical and banking sectors after lackluster fourth-quarter earnings. The stock benchmark Tadawul All Share Index ended 0.2 percent higher, closing at 7,050.38 points and the telecommunication index closed 1.5 percent higher to 2,236 points. The Arab world's biggest stock exchange has gained 3.5 percent this year. Shares in Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) added 1.4 percent after announcing better-than-expected fourth-quarter net profits of SR1.88 billion. Alinma Bank increased 1.9 percent to SR13.75 and Almarai Co., the biggest food producer in the Gulf, climbed 1.5 percent to SR66. The banking sector also dropped 0.5 percent to 15,340 points. The petrochemical index dropped 0.4 percent to 60,049 points, weighed by Sabic, which slid 0.5 percent after announcing lower-than-expected net profits. “The outstanding results of Mobily's fourth-quarter earnings played a major role in driving the index to reverse the trend from red to green,” said Mohammed Al-Omran, president of Gulf Center for Financial Consultancy in Riyadh. – SG
