RIYADH — The shares of 223 Tadawul listed Saudi companies declined at the end of their trading on Sunday. This is in the first trading session after the collapse recorded by global markets at the end of their weekly trading, coinciding with the decline in oil prices by more than three percent. The All Tadawul Share Index (TASI) lost 291.4 points at the end of its trading, a decline of 2.42 percent, to close at 11,754 points, and the market value of listed companies decreased by the equivalent of SR176.37 billion, falling to SR9.915 trillion. The TASI touched its lowest levels on Sunday at 11,722 points, as the value of traded deals amounted to about SR6.46 billion, while the volume of traded shares amounted to 334.15 million shares. The shares of three companies - Almamlaka, Talco, and Al-Waha -decreased by the maximum percentage of 10 percent while the shares of companies decreased by close to the maximum percentage are Gulf Union Al-Ahlia Cooperative Insurance Company and Atheeb despite the strong declines. Meanwhile, the shares of 11 companies recorded a profit, led by the Tawuniya Cooperative Insurance Company by 7.99 percent, Amak by 3.96 percent, Taalim REIT by 2.17 percent, and Walaa Company by 2.09 percent. The sharp decline in global markets, led by Wall Street stocks last Friday, cast its shadow over the region's stock markets as the week's sessions opened on Sunday, with Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar and Kuwait recorded sharp losses. Global markets collapsed last week after US job figures and rising unemployment levels raised market fears that the US economy could enter a recession and that the Federal Reserve was late in intervening to support the economy as it has not reduced interest rates yet. US job growth slowed more than expected in July, and the unemployment rate rose to 4.3 percent, the highest since October 2021, sparking fears that the United States could enter a recession.
