Saudi shares extended their rally into a 13th session Monday with developer Dar Al Arkan jumping after saying its real-estate holdings were upgraded, as most Gulf bourses gained. The Kingdom's benchmark Tadawul All Share Index inched up 0.03 percent to a fresh 42-month high, closing at 7,353.79 points. Shares in Dar Al Arkan surged 5.9 percent in heavy trading to their highest close since January 2011. “They had a lot of land bought a few years ago and kept at cost value on the books,” said a Riyadh-based investment manager who asked not to be identified. “For sure, with a reevaluation, the price will increase by 40-50 percent, but the real estate market is hot right now and prices could also fall.” Zain Saudi jumped 8.4 percent and Saudi Cement climbed 3.5 percent. Banks limited gains on the index, with heavyweight al Rajhi Bank slipping 3.4 percent from Wednesday's one-year high after going ex-dividend. The lender approved a cash dividend of SR2 per share for the second-half of 2011. Samba Financial Group fell 1.5 percent and Arab National Bank dipped 1.3 percent.
