RIYADH — Tadawul All Share Index (TASI), Saudi Arabia's benchmark stock index, recorded a jump of 125 points (1.1 percent) on Monday, closing at 12,008 points, thanks to the strong performance of the banking sector, led by Al-Rajhi Bank and Riyad Bank. Total turnover of shares soared 29 percent, reaching nearly SR 5.8 billion. The gainers included 171 companies listed on the Stock Exchange while 55 companies suffered losses. Al-Baha Investment and Development Company topped the gainers as it rose 8 percent to SR0.27, amid trading exceeding 900 million shares, with a value of SR240 million. Blue chip lender Al-Rajhi Bank's shares soared 3 percent to close at SR85. The performance of Riyad Bank came better than expected, raising the morale of traders towards the financial performance of the sector, which pushed all its components towards rising. Riyad Bank shares rose by more than 2 percent to SR24.84, after announcing Q3 2024 financial results. The bank reported a 15.9 percent year-on-year increase in net profit for the first nine months of the year, reaching SR7 million. Shares of Maaden, Alinma Bank, Bank Albilad, SAB, SRMG, BSF, Batic, and SPIMACO ended the session on Monday with increases ranging between 2 percent and 4 percent. SASCO stock rose 0.5 percent following the company's business growth of 14 percent in the third quarter, while 'Care' stock fell 3 percent after the company showed a decline in its profits by about 18 percent in third quarter of 2024. The financial services and public utilities sectors declined by 0.3 percent, while the rest of the sectors rose, led by banks by 2.3 percent, with the sector recording the highest trading values of SR1.4 billion.
