Saudi Arabia's stock benchmark Tadawul All Share Index clipped Saturday's near 12-week high rally as investors booked profit in petrochemical stocks and wound down positions ahead of the Haj pilgrimage. The index slipped 0.1 percent to 6,229.64 points Sunday from Saturday's near 12-week high. Petrochemical stocks booked losses with bellwether Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) down 0.8 percent and National Industrialization shed 0.7 percent. Insurance stocks dominated by volumes with the index easing 0.7 percent. “Speculators can't wait for the market to open to buy insurance stocks,” said Tarek Al Mady, Saudi based financial analyst. “Speculation has heated up from the support of both individuals and institutional.... insurance stocks can give them almost 10 percent in capital gains on a daily basis while other stocks like SABIC can only generate 1 percent,” he added. SAAB Takaful jumped 6 percent in high trade, while Gulf Union eased 0.3 percent.
