Saudi stock benchmark Tadawul All Share Index rose 0.6 percent to 6,663.48 points Wednesday, the highest since June 1 as developer Dar Al Arkan surged 8.5 percent, also ending at an 8-month high. “There is a lot of interest in the company among institutions and local investors,” said a Saudi-based trader, who did not want to be named. Dar Al Arkan's fourth-quarter profits slipped 12.3 percent but the earnings beat analyst forecasts. Blue chip firms were little changed, with Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) slipping 0.5 percent and Al Rajhi Bank gaining 0.4 percent. Meawhile, at the end of January 2012, TASI closed at a level of 6,626.04 points, gained 208.31 points (3.25 percent) over the close of the previous month (end of December 2011). The index gained 4.22 percent compared to the same period of the previous year (end of January 2011). The highest close level for the index during the month was 6,626.04 as of 31/01/2012. Total equity market capitalization at the end of January 2012 reached SR 1,303.19 billion ($347.52 billion), increased by 2.55 percent over the previous month (end of December 2011). The total value of shares traded for the month of January 2012 reached SR 155.398 billion (US$ 41.44 billion), increased by 31.25 percent over the previous month (December 2011). The total number of shares traded reached 7.49 billion shares for the month of January 2012 compared to 5.20 billion shares traded during the previous month (December 2011), increasing by 43.96 percent. The total number of transactions executed during January 2012 reached 3.55 million compared to 2.87 million trades for the month of December 2011, increasing by 23.82 percent.
