Leading stocks in the banking sector are leading the Saudi stock market higher

Leading shares in the banking sector rose in early trading on the Saudi stock exchange on Monday, with the general index retesting the 11,700-point level, following record results for the Kingdom’s largest bank by assets. Financial analyst Asim Mansour expects the index to face resistance and profit-taking activity near the 11,800-point level, which is the peak the index reached at the end of last April before falling sharply and recording its lowest levels for the year. But he added, during an intervention with Al-Sharq, “Exceeding these levels will push the index to 12,000 points. I still expect the wave of rise to continue despite the stability at the moment.” Record profits in the banking sector The leading share of National Bank jumped about 1.6% at the opening to 39.1 riyals, after it announced a growth in its profit of more than 20% to 6.47 billion riyals during the third quarter, the highest quarterly profit in its history, which exceeded the average expectations of analysts. Mary Salem, financial analyst at Al Sharq, noted that what is notable about these gains is the bank’s strong performance on the operating side, as it has demonstrated an ability to manage costs and allocations in a balanced manner. She said: “The stability of allocations leads to a kind of satisfaction for investors because it reflects the bank’s good management of non-performing loans. Operating income is around 10% high, which reinforces the idea that the bank manages costs and allocations in a balanced way.” “Saudi Fransi” moves in a limited way. In the same context, “Saudi Fransi Bank” announced net profit growth of about 18% year-on-year to 1.35 billion riyals during the third quarter, which was in line with expectations, but Hisham Abu Jamea, adviser at “Nayef Al Rajhi Investment,” described it as the highest quarterly for the bank. The bank’s shares rose slightly in morning trading. During an intervention with Al-Sharq, Abu Jamea said: “The banking sector achieves stronger profits every quarter than the previous one, and this indicates the strength of the sector in Saudi Arabia and that its valuation is lower than it deserves.” In the same context, Al-Drees Petroleum and Transport Services Company announced a growth in its net profit of about 35% in the third quarter, which was also better than expectations, but the stock fell by about 1%. In terms of other leading stocks in the market, the shares of “Al Rajhi Bank” rose, while the shares of “Aramco” and “ACWA Power” fell, subject to profit-taking operations after a jump of about 6% in the last session.