Saudi stock market's Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) fell for a second day on Saturday pulled by heavyweight petrochemical and banking stocks TASI closed 0.56 percent down at 5,956.76 points. “The market right now is in a sideways movement ... many investors are waiting for the financial statements to come out in July and they are not interested in trading in the market at this time,” said Alhassan Goussous, head of private client portfolios at Rasmala Investment. Al-Rajhi Bank led the decline after being rated “equal-weight” at Morgan Stanley in new coverage. Al-Rajhi, the Kingdom's largest lender by market value, fell for a fifth day, losing as much as 1.5 percent, to SR67.5. Saudi British Bank, the second-largest lender by market value, was also rated “equal-weight” at Morgan Stanley. It fell for a fifth day, losing as much as 1.2 percent to SR49.2. Morgan Stanley on Thursday initiated coverage of Al-Rajhi, Saudi British Bank and three other Saudi lenders. It rated Riyad Bank, Samba Financial Group and Arab National Bank as “overweight.” Insurers posted losses in particular, with Tawuniya (down 4.35 percent at SR44) and Walaa Insurance (2.95 percent lower at SR29.60). Basic Chemical Industries posted the largest gain (up 9.87 percent at SR41.20). With GCC bellwether SABIC closing 0.35 percent lower at SR71, the regional exchanges might experience a mixed week. Arab stock markets closed a mixed week on Thursday as investors monitored the movement of oil prices and the second quarter results of listed firms.
