Market Movers: Key events to watch on the Saudi Stock Exchange

Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) opened in the red on Thursday at a new low of 5,983 points. The drop came as blue chip companies geared up to announce earnings results for fiscal year 2015.

Argaam has compiled a list of local and global developments that are likely to impact the TASI on Thursday, the last day of trading for the week.

Brent crude, the benchmark for Middle East exporters, settled at $30.47 by Thursday on better-than-expected trade data from China.

European markets showed mixed performance after opening on Thursday morning; while Asian equity markets opened lower, dragged down by Japan’s Nikkei. Markets in the United States (US) had ended in negative territory on Wednesday. Dow Jones shed 2.2 percent, and S&P dipped 2.5 percent.

Earlier this week, Brent crude fell below $30 per barrel (bbl) for the first time in 12 years to trade at $29.96 bbl before a slight rebound to close at $30.31 bbl with a decline of two percent. Nymex saw a slight rise of $0.40 to $30.48 bbl.

—As for Saudi equity news, National Commercial Bank (NCB), the kingdom’s largest bank by assets, posted a 17 percent rise year-on-year (YoY) in net profit to SAR 2.12 billion for Q4-2015.

— Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co. incurred net losses of SAR 624 million in the fourth quarter, bringing up full-year losses to SAR 1.24 billion.

— Banque Saudi Fransi (BSF) reported a net profit of SAR 950 million for Q4-2015, which marks a 12 percent increase YoY.

—Utility provider Saudi Electricity Co. (SEC) urged major customers to settle unpaid bills of more than SAR 1 billion no later than January 20, or have their power services disrupted.

— Tabuk Agriculture Development Co. is expected to incur additional production costs of SAR 15 million this year, due to the kingdom’s decision to cut energy subsidies.

— Food manufacturer Halwani Bros reported a net loss of SAR 51.5 million for the 2015 fiscal year, raising accumulated losses to 58.73 percent of capital.