Shares on the Saudi bourse finished the session in positive territory on Thursday, supported by gains across the Industrial Investment, Cement and Petrochemical sectors.
The Tadawul All Share closed up 0.09%, marking a one-month high for the index at the settlement. Market breadth showed more winners than losers, with 178 stocks rising, 146 falling and 21 ending unchanged.
Leading the session's advances was Saleh Abdulaziz Al Rashed And Sons (TADAWUL:1324), which jumped 10.00% or 5.05 points to finish at 55.55. Yanbu National Petrochemical Co (TADAWUL:2290) added 7.24% or 2.32 points to close at 34.36, and Kingdom Holding Company (TADAWUL:4280) rose 6.92% or 0.64 points to 9.89 in late trading.
On the downside, Al Masane Al Kobra Mining Company CJSC (TADAWUL:1322) slid 2.98% or 2.70 points to 87.80 at the close. Rasan Information Technology (TADAWUL:8313) declined 2.54% or 3.50 points to end at 134.10, while Arabian Drilling Co (TADAWUL:2381) fell 2.52% or 2.00 points to 77.50.
Two notable intra-session milestones were recorded: Saleh Abdulaziz Al Rashed And Sons reached an all-time high with its 10.00% advance to 55.55, and Kingdom Holding Company climbed to a 52-week high, rising 6.92% to 9.89.
Commodities moved alongside equities. Crude oil for May delivery rose 4.63% or 4.18 to trade at $94.50 a barrel, while Brent oil for June delivery increased 4.96% or 4.82 to $102.08 a barrel. In precious metals, the June Gold Futures contract declined 2.60% or 119.18 to trade at $4,466.32 a troy ounce.
Foreign-exchange crosses involving the Saudi riyal registered small changes: EUR/SAR eased 0.21% to 4.33, while USD/SAR was effectively unchanged, moving 0.01% to 3.75. The US Dollar Index Futures was higher by 0.30% at 99.70.
Market participants saw a mix of sector-level outcomes, with industrial and petrochemical names among the session's top performers and mining, information technology and drilling-related stocks among those that lagged. Overall, the market's modest gain left the broad index slightly higher at the close.