JEDDAH – Saudi stocks closed higher Saturday, driven by increases in US stocks which closed out a strong week with more gains Friday. The stock benchmark Tadawul All Share Index rose 0.4 percent to close at 7027.49 points. Al Rajhi Bank dropped 1.13 percent giving up early gains. Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) was up 0.27 percent. Saudi Industrial jumped 2.7 percent, the most since April 28, to SR22.75. Safco increased 1 percent to SR156.50. The banking index dropped 0.3 percent and the petrochemicals index gained 0.74 percent, having fallen to a 2013 low on March 4. Volume on the Saudi bourse increased to 172 million shares Saturday, the most in more than a week, after data showed US employment rose 236,000 last month. Wall Street spent the week hoping for record results, then cheering record results and, finally, asking itself how long the good times can last. The Dow over the 14,400 line for the first time, but a sell-off in the last 15 minutes of the session left the index shy of that level, up 67.58 points (0.47 percent) at 14,397.07. The broader S&P 500 came close to surpassing its record high, set in October 2007, gaining 6.92 (0.45 percent) at 1,551.18. – SG/Agencies
