Saudi Arabia's stock market ended the trading day slightly in the red on Monday, with the Tadawul All Share registering a 0.04% decline at the close. Sector-level weakness in Transport, Media & Publishing and Agriculture & Food contributed to the downward pressure on the index.
Among individual names, Saudi Fisheries Co. (TADAWUL:6050) led the winners, jumping 9.96% - an increase of 4.48 points - to finish at 49.44. Thimar Development Holding Co (TADAWUL:4160) also saw strong gains, rising 5.17% or 1.72 points to close at 34.96. Al Yamamah Steel Industries Co (TADAWUL:1304) added 4.13% - up 1.70 points - to settle at 42.90 in late trade.
On the downside, Al Ramz Real Estate Company SJSC (TADAWUL:4327) recorded one of the larger declines, falling 3.16% or 1.90 points to end the session at 58.25. Rabigh Refining & Petrochemical Co (TADAWUL:2380) slipped 2.87% - down 0.36 points - to 12.20, while National Medical Care Company (TADAWUL:4005) declined 2.71% or 3.00 points to close at 107.90.
Market breadth was mixed: 167 stocks advanced, 150 fell and 26 finished unchanged on the Saudi Arabia Stock Exchange. Notably, shares of Al Yamamah Steel Industries reached a 52-week high during the session, closing up 4.13% at 42.90.
Commodities moved lower during the same trading session. Crude oil for August delivery fell 1.74% - a drop of $1.32 - to $74.53 a barrel. Brent oil for September delivery decreased 2.49% or $1.99, landing at $78.06 a barrel. In precious metals, the August Gold Futures contract was down 0.55% - by $23.53 - to trade at $4,222.37 a troy ounce.
Foreign-exchange rates quoted in the session showed little change. EUR/SAR was unchanged by 0.03% at 4.30, and USD/SAR was unchanged by 0.03% at 3.75. Meanwhile, the US Dollar Index Futures registered a slight decline of 0.01%, standing at 100.61.
This trading day combined modest index movement with divergent performance at the stock level, and commodity prices trended lower. Market participants observed gains among several small- and mid-cap names even as key sectors posted losses that dragged the overall index into negative territory by a narrow margin.