Saudi Arabia's equity market finished modestly lower on Wednesday, with the Tadawul All Share retreating 0.12% at the close as losses in Hotels & Tourism, Media & Publishing and Cement contributed to downward pressure.
Market participants saw a mixed session among individual issues. The top-performing names on the benchmark included Amana Cooperative Insurance Co (TADAWUL:8310), which climbed 6.45% - adding 0.42 points to finish at 6.93. Al Hammadi Co (TADAWUL:4007) advanced 6.40%, or 1.72 points, to close at 28.60, while Rasan Information Technology (TADAWUL:8313) gained 3.68%, an increase of 5.30 points to 149.30 in late trade.
On the downside, Jahez International Company for Information Systems Technology SCJSC (TADAWUL:6017) led the laggards, falling 3.24% or 0.47 points to end at 14.02. Almajed 4 Oud Company SJSC (TADAWUL:4165) declined 3.04% or 4.30 points to 137.00, and Banque Saudi Fransi (TADAWUL:1050) slipped 2.93%, down 0.57 points to 18.86.
Breadth on the Saudi exchange favored losers: 177 stocks fell compared with 134 that rose, while 33 issues finished unchanged.
Commodities trading showed upward moves in oil prices. Crude oil for July delivery rose 2.54%, gaining $2.38 to settle at $96.14 per barrel. Brent oil for August delivery increased 2.32%, or $2.23, to $98.23 a barrel. Precious metals moved in the opposite direction, with the August Gold Futures contract easing 0.72% - a decline of $32.53 - to trade at $4,487.37 per troy ounce.
Currency pairs involving the Saudi riyal were broadly stable. EUR/SAR fell 0.22% to 4.35, while USD/SAR was effectively unchanged, moving 0.05% to 3.75. In U.S. market instruments, the U.S. Dollar Index futures was reported up 0.21% at 99.40.
The session highlighted a continuation of divergent moves across sectors and commodities: select Saudi equities posted strong gains even as more names retreated, and oil benchmarks posted notable increases while gold pulled back.
Investors monitoring Saudi market flows will note the uneven participation across sectors and the interplay between energy prices and local equity performance. The composition of winners and losers underlines the sector-specific drivers in play during the session.