RIYADH — Saudi Arabia's benchmark Tadawul All Share Index (TASI), the main Stock Market index, crossed on Sunday the 9,000-point barrier for the first time since mid-2019, recording the highest close in one and a half years. TASI rose more than one percent or 92 points to 9036 points, posting the highest close since July 2019. The record performance is driven by support with optimism about economic recovery, an increase in oil prices, and an anticipation of the return of the rebound in initial public offerings (IPOs). Total turnover reached about SR12.1 billion as the index continued to jump for the seventh consecutive session, to gain 500 points during the sessions, an increase of 5.8 percent. The session witnessed an increase in most of the traded shares, led by Al-Rajhi Bank by 4.4 percent at SR83.50 to record the highest close in 15 years, specifically, since the stock market crash in 2006. On Sunday, many stocks recorded an increase in the maximum percentage, represented by the shares of Etihad Atheeb, Al-Fakharia, United Cooperative Insurance, JACO, and Al-Jouf Agriculture companies. Two companies saw more than 50 percent of its free float shares traded, represented by the Saudi Arabian Refineries Company with 53.55 percent of its free shares, resulting in the company's share gaining 7.32 percent, in addition to the Saudi Fisheries Company (Alasmak), which traded 50.9 percent of its free float shares, with a jump of 6.97 percent in its shares.
